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OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

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THEOSOPHIC/iL   BOOK  GIFT 
INSTITUTE 


Central    Fiuiirc   aftrr   a    I'oinpcian    W  allpaiiitiiuj   ot    /''   'M  ^    ^ 

The  Enthroned  Sun-God  and  His  Twelve  Powers 

"  Behold,  around  mine  own  celestial  throne 
Are  set  twelve  others,  like  a  jewelled  zone 
Within  the  Realm  that  evermore  endures." 


THE 

RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

THE  HELLENIC  FRAGMENTS,  FREED  FROM  THE 
PSEUDO-JEWISH  INTERPOLATIONS,  HARMONIZED, 
AND    DONE    INTO  ENGLISH    VERSE    AND    PROSE 

WITH    INTRODUCTORY   ANALYSES,   AND    COMMENTARIES, 

GIVING   AN    INTERPRETATION    ACCORDING   TO 

ANCIENT  PHILOSOPHY  AND  PSYCHOLOGY 

AND  A  NEW  LITERAL  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  SYNOPTIC 
GOSPELS,    WITH    INTRODUCTION    AND    COMMENTARIES 

BY 

JAMES  MORGAN  PRYSE 


^iXoao(f>wT€pov  Koi   cnrovoaiOTtpov   Trotr/o'is  IcrTopia^  itTTiv 

Poetry  is  more  philosophical  and  more  serious  than  history 

— Aristotle 


LOS  ANGELES 

JOHN  M.  PRYSE 

LONDON 

JOHN  M.  WATKINS 

21  CECIL  COURT,    CHARING  CROSS  ROAD,  W.  C.  2 


Sold  by 
The  Theosophicai  Press 

Wheaton.   Illinois 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
John  M.  Pryse,  New  York 

Copyright,  Great  IJritain 

All  rights  reserved 

(PRINTED  IN  THE  U.  S.  A.) 

(Fourth    Edition.) 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

Part  First.    The  Genuine  Portions  of  the  New  Testament, 
WITH  Introductory  Analyses,  and  Commentaries. 

General  Introduction 3 

Introduction  to  the  Anointing  of  Iesous 19 

The  Anointing  of  Iesous   (Restored  from  the  Synoptic 
Gospels),  with  Commentary 33 

The  Crowning  of  Jesus  (Metrical  Version) 152 

Selections  from  the  Fourth  Gospel,  with  Commentary     .   239 

Introduction  to  the  Initiation  of  Ioannes 249 

The  Initiation  of  Ioannes  (Prose  Version  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse), WITH  Commentary 287 

Initiation  (Metrical  Version  of  the  Apocalypse)   .      .      .  403 

The  Letters  of  Paulos.    Introduction 462 

Letter  to  the  Galatians 467 

Letter  to  the  Korinthians 469 

Letter  to  the  Thessalonikans 471 

Part  Second.    The  Synoptic  Gospels,  Translated  into  Mod- 
ern English,  with  Comments  on  the  Spurious  Portions. 

Introduction 475 

[  [Tpie  Good  Tidings]  ]  According  to  Mark 481 

[[The  Good  Tidings]]  According  to  Matthew     ...   568 

[[The  Good  Tidings]]  According  TO  Luke 686 

Glossary 813 


G9856i2 


LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Enthroned  Sun-God  and  His  Twelve  Powers  (Colored 

Plate) Frontispiece 

The  Seven  Principal  Ganglia 12 

Constellations  of  the  First  Five  Disciples 53 

Poseidon  in  His  Chariot 72 

The  Key  of  the  Sacred  Science  (Colored  Plate)      .      .      .  facing  249 

The  Gnostic  Chart  Concealed  in  the  Apocalypse 250 

The  Cubical  City  Unfolded 255 

The  Light  of  the  Cosmos 295 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
IN  THE  TEXT 


Agnus  Dei,  320 
Aphrodite,  309 

Apocalyptic  Zodiac,  The,  260 
Apollon,  321 

Apollon  and  Artemis,  324 
Ares,  305 
Artemis,  338 
Athena,  40,  yy,  361 
Cetus,  355 
Crater,  376 
Demeter,  244 

Deukalion  and  Pyrrha,  37 
Dionysos,  44;  Ancient  Mystical,  58 
Draco,  350 
Hekate,  102 
Helios,  143,  307 

Hephaistos,  Kratos  and  Bia  Chain- 
ing Prometheus,  137 
Hermes,  80,  311,  343 


Hermes  and  Solar  Bird,  141 

Interlaced  Triangles,  279 

Kronos,  300 

Medusa,  358 

Cannes,  34 

Phiale,  369 

Plouton  and  Persephone,  75 

Plouton  Enthroned,  88 

Rhea,  56 

Seal,  319 

Selene,  312 

Seven  Cities  in  Asia,  The,  299 

Sickle,  365 

Thyrsos,  145 

Trumpet,  334 

Twelve  Signs  of  the  Zodiac,  The,  15 

Virgo,  349 

Zeus,  303 

Zeus  Enthroned,  89 


PREFACE 

In  the  work  here  presented  the  portions  of  the  hfczv  Testament 
which  the  author  holds  to  be  genuine  are  construed  in  verse,  and  are 
interpreted  along  the  lines  of  ancient  philosophy  and  psychology. 
The  work  is,  therefore,  not  concerned  with  theological  views  or  any 
of  the  creeds,  dogmas  and  doctrines  of  the  many  Christian  sects. 
For  the  author,  while  cherishing  the  greatest  respect  for  all  that  is 
pure  and  noble  in  the  Christian  religion  and  all  other  religions,  is 
not,  and  never  has  been,  a  Christian.  In  interpreting  the  New 
Testament  from  a  non-sectarian,  and  therefore  possibly  non-Chris- 
tian, point  of  view,  he  has  tried  to  avoid  offending  needlessly  those 
who  cling  to  one  or  another  form  of  Christian  faith ;  but  this  inter- 
pretation differs  radically  from  that  offered  by  the  so-called  orthodox 
commentators,  and  in  the  attempt  to  restore  the  admittedly  corrupt 
text  of  the  Nezi'  Testament,  more  especially  that  of  the  Gospels^  the 
author  has  found  it  necessary  to  undermine  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  structure  of  dogmatic  theology  has  been  reared.  Not  in 
a  controversial  spirit,  and  with  no  iconoclastic  zeal,  but  simply  with 
the  purpose  of  purifying  the  text  of  the  Gospels  and  restoring  it 
approximately  to  its  primitive  form,  in  order  to  bring  out  more 
clearly  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of  the  allegory  which  vitalizes  it, 
lie  had  to  undertake  the  uncongenial  task  of  showing,  by  dissecting 
the  text  of  the  Gospels,  that  the  founders  of  the  Christian  Church, 
whoever  they  were,  deliberately  falsified  that  text  throughout,  and 
thereby  committed  the  darkest  crime  known  in  the  history  of  litera- 
ture. Freed  from  the  forgeries  foisted  in  the  text  by  these  priestly 
criminals,  the  allegory  of  the  Crucified  is  Hellenic  in  form,  and 


viii  PREFACE 

embodies  in  its  simple  majesty  the  profoundest  truths  of  archaic 
religion;  and  it  is  solely  for  the  elucidation  of  its  spiritual  meaning 
that  the  present  commentary  was  written. 

The  phrase  "New  Testament"  is  retained  in  the  title  because  it  is 
the  commonly  accepted  name  of  the  collection  of  writings  so  desig- 
nated ;  but  the  claim  that  the  writings  set  forth  a  new  testament, 
covenant  or  dispensation,  as  distinguished  from  the  so-called  Mosaic 
dispensation,  is  rejected  by  the  author  as  a  theological  fiction.  The 
theory  upon  which  this  attempted  restoration  of  the  allegory  is 
based  is  that  all  those  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which  may  be 
regarded  as  genuine  are,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  fragments  of 
the  Epistles,  prose  plagiaries  from  ancient  Greek  sacred  poems,  the 
allegorical  dramas  forming  part  of  the  ritual  in  the  Mysteries,  and 
that  all  the  passages  by  which  the  lesous-mythos  is  connected  with 
the  Old  Testament,  staged  in  Judaea,  and  given  a  semblance  of  his- 
toricity, are  the  work  of  forgers,  who  employed  stolen  notes  of  the 
Greek  Mystery-ritual  in  fabricating  a  "sacred"  scripture  upon  which 
to  found  a  new  religion.  Therefore  the  author  rejects  as  spurious 
many  passages  of  the  Gospels,  all  of  the  Acts,  and  nearly  everything 
in  the  Epistles.  There  is  very  little  that  is  of  any  value  in  the 
Epistles  except  a  few  doctrines  stolen  from  the  writings  of  Phil5n 
Judaios,  the  great  Jewish  philosopher;  and  the  Acts  is  merely  a 
fantastic  work  of  fiction.  The  Apocalypse  is  treated  as  a  prose 
version  of  a  Greek  Mystery-poem;  but  the  version  seems  to  have 
been  made  with  honest  motives  by  a  writer  conversant  with  the 
esoteric  meaning  of  the  original,  and  who  presumably  gave  it  a 
superficially  Jewish  coloring  to  preserve  it  from  being  destroyed  by 
the  fanatics  of  the  new  faith,  who  were  endeavoring  to  suppress 
everything  in  ancient  literature  which  betrayed,  or  tended  to  prove, 
the  fact  that  the  new  religion  they  had  invented  and  Instituted  was 
founded  on  a  fabricated  "history,"  and  was  merely  a  travesty  of 


PREFACE  ix 

the  older  religions.  In  this  Restored  New  Testament  the  Apoca- 
lypse and  the  story  of  lesous  as  found  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  are 
translated  into  English  verse,  the  metrical  form  being  more  suitable 
than  prose  for  this  attempted  restoration  of  the  lost  original  dra- 
matic poems.  A  prose  version  of  each  is  given,  however,  as  a  basis 
for  the  commentary.  The  prose  translation  of  the  Apocalypse  is 
strictly  literal ;  that  of  the  composite  Gospel  formed  from  the 
Synoptics,  although  a  free  rendering,  follows  the  Greek  text  faith- 
fully except  in  some  passages  which  by  their  pitiable  poverty  of  ex- 
pression called  for  expansion,  and  in  others  which  have  been  so 
falsified  by  the  ecclesiastical  forgers  that  the  meaning  of  the  original 
is  now  but  a  matter  for  conjecture.  In  the  second  part  of  the  work 
a  literal  translation  is  given  of  the  full  text  of  the  Synoptics,  with 
comments  on  the  spurious  passages  only.  In  restoring  the  allegory, 
a  careful  literary  analysis  of  the  text  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  has 
been  made,  tracing  the  peculiar  devices  and  methods  of  the  forgers 
and  interpolators,  with  the  purpose  of  undoing  their  work  as  far 
as  possible;  and  the  mythico-astronomical  system  of  the  ancient 
solar  cult,  and  the  mystical  sense  of  the  allegory,  have  been  followed 
in  replacing  the  incidents  of  the  mythos  in  their  correct  sequence. 

As  this  work  aims  to  present  its  subject-matter  in  popular  style, 
unburdened  by  any  material  not  strictly  needed  in  the  interpretation 
of  the  lesous-allegory  as  found  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Apocalypse, 
no  attempt  is  made  to  sustain  the  author's  conclusions  by  evidence 
and  arguments  drawn  from  comparative  religions,  from  the  incau- 
tious admissions  made  by  early  Christian  writers,  or  from  the 
scholarly  works  of  modern  Biblical  critics  who  have  demonstrated 
that  the  Gospels  are  a  literary  patchwork,  discordant,  and  not  to  be 
regarded  by  any  disciplined  mind  as  authentic  history.  Important 
and  interesting  as  these  subjects  are,  they  could  not  be  dealt  with 
adequately  in  the  present  work  without  expanding  it  to  too  great 


X  PREFACE 

bulk,  and  thereby  distracting  attention  from  the  central  theme  which 
it  seeks  to  elucidate,  the  lesous-mythos  as  an  allegory  of  initiation— 
the  mystical  story  of  a  Man  who  by  his  own  efforts  became  a  God. 

James  Morgan  Pryse. 
New  York  City,  October  i,  1914. 

TO  THE  ETERNAL  SELF 

A  Paraphrase  of  the  "Lord's  Prayer" 

Thou  Self  Divine,  whose  heavenly  throne 
Outshines  the  sun  in  visioned  splendor, 

O  hear  me  reverently  intone 

Thy  Name  with  accent  low  and  tender ; 

And  let  that  Name,  thus  breathed,  set  free 

The  Power  that  wafts  my  soul  to  thee. 

Let  gleaming  solar  forces  weave 

My  royal  robe  of  light  supernal ; 
Triumphant,  may  I  then  receive 

The  promised  crown  of  life  eternal. 
And  thus  within  thy  realm  regain 
My  right  with  thee  fore'er  to  reign. 

While  yet  my  soul  must  meekly  v.ear 

Its  mortal  vesture,  dark  and  lowly. 
Unwearied  may  I  strive  with  care 

To  do  on  earth  thy  Will  most  holy, 
That  here  below  thy  boundless  love 
Undimmed  may  shine  from  heaven  above. 

O  give  me  now  the  power  sublime 

To  read  fair  Wisdom's  wondrous  pages : 

Unhindered  then  by  space  and  time 

My  soul  would  haste,  through  fleeting  ages, 

With  thee  among  the  Gods  to  dine 

On  Wisdom's  hallowed  bread  and  wine. 


PART  FIRST 

THE  GEx\UIXE  PORTIONS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT, 

WITH  INTRODUCTORY  ANALYSES, 

AND  COMMENTARIES 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION 

As  but  few  readers  may  be  expected  to  have  even  a  superficial 
acquaintance  with  ancient  philosophy  and  various  other  associated 
subjects  which  must  be  understood,  to  some  extent,  before  the 
allegorical  portions  of  the  Nczu  Testament  can  be  studied  intel- 
ligently and  to  advantage,  a  brief  sketch  will  here  be  given  of  the 
topics  that  are  pertinent  to  this  interpretation. 

Every  thoughtful  student  of  the  literature  of  the  ancient  religions, 
including  that  of  early  Christianity,  can  not  but  be  impressed  by  the 
fact  that  in  each  and  all  of  them  may  be  found  very  clear  intimations 
of  a  secret  traditional  lore,  an  arcane  science,  handed  down  from 
times  immemorial.  This  secret  body  of  knowledge  will  in  this  work 
be  termed  the  Gnosis ;  the  word  is  here  used,  however,  in  a  general 
sense,  to  denote  the  higher  knowledge,  and  without  any  special  refer- 
ence to,  or  endorsement  of,  the  Christian  Gnosticism  of  the  early  cen- 
turies. Each  of  the  great  nations  of  antiquity  had  an  esoteric  as  well 
as  an  exoteric  religion  :  the  Gnosis  was  reserved  for  temple-initiates ; 
while  the  popular  religion  was  made  up  of  moral  precepts,  myths, 
allegories  and  ceremonial  observances,  which  reflected,  more  or  less 
faithfully,  the  mystic  tenets.  ''All  the  eastern  nations,"  says  Ori- 
genes,  "the  people  of  India,  the  Persians,  the  Syrians,  conceal  sacred 
mysteries  under  their  religious  myths;  the  sages  and  philosophers  of 
all  religions  penetrate  the  true  meaning,  while  the  ignorant  see  only 
the  exterior  symbol— the  bark  that  covers  it."  But  this  was  equally 
true  of  all  the  cultured  nations  of  antiquity;  and  the  noblest  of  the 
philosophers  and  sages,  with  but  few  exceptions,  gained  their  pro- 
founder  knowledge  through  regular  initiation  at  the  schools  of  the* 
Mysteries,  which  in  ancient  times  were  the  true  centres  of  learning. 
In  Greece  the  Mysteries  were  established  in  various  forms,  and  were 
under  the  direction  of  the  state.  The  most  notable  were  the  Eleu- 
sinia,  which  were  of  great  antiquity,  and  continued  until  the  invasion 


4  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  Alaric  the  Goth,  in  the  year  396  of  the  Christian  era.  During  the 
first  centur}'  the  Mysteries  were  the  recognized  rehgion  of  Greece, 
and  were  celebrated  in  every  city  of  that  country  and  in  the  Greek 
colonies  in  Asia  Minor.  The  principal  centre  of  the  Greater  Eleu- 
sinia  was  the  superb  temple  at  Eleusis,  near  Athens ;  while  the  Lesser 
Eleusinia,  at  which  candidates  participated  in  the  purificatory  rites 
and  were  given  elementary  instruction,  preparatory  to  initiation  into 
the  Greater  Mysteries,  had  their  seat  at  Agra,  on  the  river  Ilissos. 
The  Lesser  Mysteries  were  celebrated  in  February,  and  the  Greater 
in  September,  annually.  The  celebration  of  the  Greater  Eleusinia, 
which  lasted  nine  days,  began  in  public  as  a  pageant  and  festival  in 
honor  of  DcMiieter  and  Persephone;  but  the  telestic  rites  were  cele- 
brated in  the  solemn  secrecy  of  the  temple,  to  which  none  but  ini- 
tiates were  admitted.  Under  Peisistratos  the  Festival  of  Demeter 
and  Persephone  was  modified  by  additions  from  the  Dionysiac  and 
Asklepiadic  Mysteries.  The  public  ceremonies,  however,  were  evi- 
dently designed  merely  for  the  benefit  of  the  unconsecrated  multi- 
tude, and  presumably  had  no  real  connection  with  the  proceedings 
which  took  place  within  the  temple.  Every  initiate  was  bound  by 
an  oath  of  inviolable  secrecy;  hence  nothing  of  any  importance  is 
known  concerning  the  initiatory  ceremonies.  There  is  good  reason 
for  believing,  however,  that  in  the  Eleusinian  ritual  the  zodiacal 
symbolism  was  employed,  and  that  some  of  the  instruction  was 
given  in  the  form  of  dramatic  representations.  In  fact,  the  drama 
seems  to  have  originated  in  the  Mysteries.  The  symbolism  of  the 
zodiac  was  really  a  cryptic  language  in  which  certain  facts  concern- 
ing the  inner  nature  of  man  were  expressed ;  and  it  was  common  to 
the  initiates  of  all  ancient  religions.  There  was  no  concealment  of 
the  fact  that  the  telestic  rites  were  designed  for  moral  purification, 
the  development  of  the  spiritual  faculties,  and  the  attainment  of 
conscious  immortality ;  nor  was  there  any  secrecy  about  the  general 
principles  of  the  perfective  philosophy,  which  were  openly  incul- 
cated. Thus  Plato,  arguing  always  for  the  immortalit}^  of  the  soul 
and  human  perfectibility,  expatiates  upon  moral  subjects  with  the 
greatest  clearness ;  but  whenever  he  has  for  his  subject  the  inner 
constitution  of  man  he  is  purposely  vague,  and  in  treating  of  the 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  5 

subjective  worlds  and  the  after-death  states  of  the  soul,  he  invari- 
ably employs  the  medium  of  allegory.  Many  passages  in  his  writ- 
ings, as  in  the  Tiuiaios,  are  quite  unintelligible  to  any  one  who  does 
not  possess  the  key  to  the  zodiacal  language;  and  this  is  also  true  of 
most  of  the  sacred  writings  of  antiquity. 

The  point  where  the  arcane  system  sharply  diverges  from  all  the 
conventional  schools  of  thought  is  in  the  means  of  acquiring  know- 
ledge. To  make  this  clear,  Plato's  analysis  of  the  four  faculties  of 
the  soul,  with  their  four  corresponding  degrees  of  knowledge,  may 
be  taken.     (Rep.  vi.  511.)    Tabulated,  it  is  as  follows: 

THE  VISIBLE,  SENSUOUS  WORLD 

1.  Et/cacria,  perception  of  images.  |  8d|^a,  opinion, 

2.  Iltcrn?,  faith,  psychic  groping.  J       illusory  knowledge. 

THE   INTELLIGIBLE,    SUPRASENSUOUS    WORLD 

3.  AiduoLa,  philosophic  reason,  |   yi/oicrt?,  iTnaTTJfJLr),  wisdom, 

4.  Norycrt?,    direct  cognition.        J       true  knowledge. 

The  first  of  these  degrees  covers  the  whole  field  of  the  inductive 
physical  sciences,  which  are  concerned  with  investigating  the 
phenomena  of  external  nature ;  the  second  degree  embraces  exoteric 
religion  and  all  phases  of  blind  belief;  and  these  two  degrees,  per- 
taining to  the  phrenic  or  lower  mind,  comprise  all  the  knowledge 
available  to  those  whose  consciousness  does  not  transcend  the  illu- 
sions of  the  material  world.  The  third  degree  relates  to  speculative 
philosophy,  which  seeks  to  arrive  at  first  principles  by  the  effort  of 
pure  reason ;  the  fourth  degree  is  the  direct  apprehension  of  truth 
by  the  lucid  mind  independently  of  any  reasoning  process ;  and  these 
two  degrees,  pertaining  to  the  noetic  or  higher  mind,  represent  the 
field  of  knowledge  open  to  those  whose  consciousness  rises  to  the 
world  of  spiritual  reality.  Elsewhere  Plato  speaks  of  the  niantic 
state,  which  he  describes  as  a  kind  of  madness  produced  "by  a  divine 
release  from  the  ordinary  ways  of  men." 

The  exoteric  scientist  and  religionist  rely  on  the  physical  senses, 
the  psychic  emotions,  and  the  intellectual  faculties  as  these  are  in 


6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  present  stage  of  human  evolution;  and  while  the  scientist  some- 
what enlarges  the  scope  of  the  senses  by  employing  the  telescope, 
the  microscope,  and  other  mechanical  devices,  the  religionist  puts 
his  trust  in  the  mutilated  records  of  suppositional  revelations  re- 
ceived from  the  remote  past.  But  the  esotericist,  refusing  to  be 
confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  senses  and  the  mental 
faculties,  and  recognizing  that  the  gnostic  powers  of  the  soul  are 
hopelessly  hampered  and  obscured  by  its  imperfect  instrument,  the 
physical  body,  devotes  himself  to  what  may  be  termed  intensive  self- 
evolution,  the  conquest  and  utilization  of  all  the  forces  and  faculties 
that  lie  latent  in  that  fontal  essence  within  himself  which  is  the 
primary  source  of  all  the  elements  and  powers  of  his  being,  of  all 
that  he  is,  has  been,  and  will  be.  By  gaining  conscious  control  of 
the  hidden  potencies  which  are  the  proximate  causes  of  his  indi- 
vidual evcjlution.  he  seeks  to  traverse  in  a  comparatively  brief  period 
of  time  the  path  leading  to  spiritual  illumination  and  liberation  from 
terrestrial  bondage,  rushing  forward,  as  it  were,  toward  that  goal 
which  the  human  race  as  a  whole,  advancing  at  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible rate  of  progress,  will  reach  only  after  seons  of  time.  His 
effort  is  not  so  much  to  kiwn'  as  to  bccouic;  and  herein  lies  the 
tremendous  import  of  the  Delphic  inscription.  "Know  Thyself," 
which  is  the  key-note  of  esotericism.  For  the  esotericist  under- 
stands that  true  self-knowdedge  can  be  attained  only  through  self- 
development  in  the  highest  possible  sense  of  the  term,  a  development 
which  begins  with  introspection  and  the  awakening  of  creative  and 
regenerative  forces  which  now  slumber  in  man's  inner  protoplasmic 
nature,  like  the  vivific  potency  in  the  ovum,  and  which  when  roused 
into  activity  transform  him  ultimately  into  a  divine  being  bodied  in 
a  deathless  ethereal  form  of  ineffable  beauty.  This  process  of  tran- 
scendental self -conquest,  the  giving  birth  to  oneself  as  a  spiritual 
being,  evolving  from  the  concealed  essence  of  one's  own  embryonic 
nature  a  self-luminous  immortal  body,  is  the  sole  subject-matter  of 
the  Apocalypse,  as  it  is  also  the  great  theme  of  the  lesous-mythos. 

In  the  esoteric  philosophy — the  infelicitous  word  "esoteric"  being 
used  in  this  work  merely  because  the  English  language  appears  to 
afford   no   happier   one — the   absolute    Deity   is   considered   to   be 


GENERAL  IXTRODUCTIOX  7 

beyond  the  spheres  of  existence  and  ulterior  to  Being  itself.  The 
world  of  true  Being  is  that  of  the  Logos,  or  Nous,  the  realm  of 
divine  ideas,  or  archetypes,  which  are  the  eternal  patterns,  so  to  say, 
of  all  things  in  the  manifested  universe.  By  a  paradox  which  defies 
the  reasoning  faculty,  but  which  is  readily  resolved  intuitively,  the 
God  is  said  to  be  apart  from,  and  independent  of.  the  universe,  and 
yet  to  permeate  every  atom  of  it.  The  God  is  the  abstract  Unit, 
which  is  the  origin  of  all  number,  but  which  never  loses  its  unit- 
value,  and  can  not  be  divided  into  fractions ;  while  the  Logos  is  the 
manifested  or  collective  Unit,  a  deific  Lidividuality,  the  collectivity 
of  a  countless  host  of  Logoi,  who  are  differentiated  into  seven 
hierarchies,  constituting  in  the  aggregate  the  Second  Logos,  the 
uttered  Thought,  or  Word. 

The  mediate  principle  by  which  the  Logos  manifests  in  and  from 
the  God  is  termed  in  the  prologue  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  the  Archeus 
iapXTj)  ;  it  is  the  first  element  or  substratum  of  substantive  objec- 
tivity, that  which  becomes  by  differentiation  first  the  subtile  and 
then  the  gross  material  elements  of  the  manifested  worlds.  If  this 
primary  substance  is  related  back  to  the  God,  and  considered  as 
being  prior  to  the  Logos,  the  result  is  the  refined  dualism  that  mars 
some  of  the  old  systems  of  philosophy.  But  in  the  prologue  the 
Logos  is  really  coeval  with  the  Archeus:  the  Logos  is  (subsists)  in 
the  Archeus,  and  the  latter  becomes,  in  the  Logos,  the  principle  of 
Life,  which  irradiates  as  Light.  This  Light  of  the  Logos  is  iden- 
tical with  the  Pneuma,  the  Breath  or  Holy  Spirit,  and  esoterically 
it  is  the  pristine  force  which  underlies  matter  in  every  stage,  and  is 
the  producer  of  all  the  phenomena  of  existence.  It  is  the  one  force 
from  which  differentiate  all  the  forces  in  the  cosmos.  As  specialized 
in  the  human  organism,  it  is  termed,  in  the  Nczv  Testament,  the 
parakletos,  the  "Advocate,"  and  is  the  regenerative  force  above 
referred  to. 

From  the  Archetypal  world,  that  of  the  Logos,  emanate  succes- 
sively the  Psychic  and  the  ^Material  worlds ;  and  to  these  three  may 
be  added  a  fourth,  which  is  usually  included,  by  ancient  writers,  in 
the  Psychic,  though  in  reality  it  is  distinct  from  it.  This  fourth 
world,  which  will  here  be  called  the  Phantasmal  —  since  the  word 


8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"hell"  connotes  misleading  and  lurid  notions— is  the  region  of 
phantoms,  evil  spirits,  and  psychic  garbage  generally. 

All  that  the  universe  contains  is  contained  also  in  man.  The 
origin  of  man  is  in  the  Deity,  and  his  true  self  or  individuality  is  a 
Logos,  a  manifested  God.  Analogous  with  the  universe  or  macro- 
cosm, man,  the  microcosm,  has  three  bodies,  which  are  called  in  the 
Nczv  Testament  the  spiritual  body  (pneumatikon  suma),  the 
psychic  body  (psychikon  soma),  and  the  physical  body  (soma,  or 
sarx,  "flesh").  In  the  Upanishads  they  are  termed  "causal  body" 
(karaiia  sharlra),  "subtile  body"  (silhshnia  slianra),  and  "gross 
body"  (stliula  sharlra).  In  mystical  writings  these  three,  together 
with  the  fourth,  or  perfected  vesture  of  the  immortal  Self,  are  given 
as  corresponding  to  the  four  occult  elements,  and  also  to  the  earth, 
moon,  sidereal  system,  and  sun,  and  hence  are  spoken  of  as  the 
earthly  or  carnal  body  (the  "muddy  vesture  of  decay,"  as  Shake- 
speare terms  it),  the  lunar  or  water-body,  the  sidereal  or  air-body, 
and  the  solar  or  fire-body. 

The  spiritual  (pneumatic)  body  is,  strictly  speaking,  not  a  body 
at  all,  but  only  an  ideal,  archetypal  form,  ensphered,  as  it  were,  by 
the  pneuma  or  primordial  principle  which  in  the  duality  of  mani- 
festation generates  all  forces  and  elements :  it  is  therefore  called 
the  "causal  body,"  because  from  its  sphere  all  the  other  bodies  are 
engendered ;  and  all  these  lower  forms  are  enveloped  by  the  same 
circumambient  aura  (called  in  the  Nezv  Testament  "the  radiance" 
or  "glory,"  he  doxa),  which  is  visible  to  the  seer  as  an  oviform 
faint  film  of  bluish  haze.  Semi-latent  within  this  pneumatic  ovum 
is  the  paraklete,  the  light  of  the  Logos,  which  in  energizing  becomes 
what  may  be  described  as  living,  conscious  electricity,  of  incredible 
voltage  and  hardly  comparable  to  the  form  of  electricity  known  to 
the  physicist.  This  is  the  "good  serpent"  of  ancient  symbology; 
and,  taken  with  the  pneumatic  ovum,  it  was  also  represented  in  the 
familiar  symbol  of  the  ^gg  and  the  serpent.  It  is  called  in  the 
Sanskrit  writings  kundalim,  the  annular  or  ring-form  force,  and  in 
the  Greek  spcircma,  the  serpent-coil.  It  is  this  force  which,  in  the 
telestic  work,  or  cycle  of  initiation,  weaves  from  the  primal  sub- 
stance of  the  auric  ovum,  upon  the  ideal  form  or  archetype  it  con- 


GENERAL  IXTRODUCTIOX  9 

tains,  and  conforming  thereto,  the  immortal  Augoeides,  or  solar 
body  {heliakon  soma),  so  called  because  in  its  visible  appearance  it 
is  self-luminous  like  the  sun,  and  has  a  golden  radiance.  Its  aureola 
displays  a  filmy  opalescence.  This  solar  body  is  of  atomic,  non- 
molecular  substance. 

The  psychic,  or  lunar,  body,  through  which  the  Nous  acts  in  the 
psychic  world,  is  molecular  in  structure,  but  of  far  finer  substance 
than  the  elements  composing  the  gross  physical  form,  to  whose 
organism  it  closely  corresponds,  having  organs  of  sight,  hearing, 
and  the  rest.  In  appearance  it  has  a  silvery  lustre,  tinged  with  deli- 
cate violet ;  and  its  aura  is  of  palest  blue,  with  an  interchanging  play 
of  all  the  prismatic  colors,  rendering  it  iridescent. 

The  physical  body,  in  its  physiological  relation  to  psychology,  will 
necessarily  have  to  be  considered  somewhat  in  detail  in  elucidating 
the  text;  but  before  entering  on  this  subject,  it  may  be  explained 
that  another  body  is  sometimes  alluded  to  in  mystical  writings.  It 
is  called  in  Sanskrit  kduia  rupa,  the  form  engendered  by  lust,  and  it 
comes  into  existence  only  after  the  death  of  the  physical  body,  save 
in  the  exceptional  case  of  the  extremely  evil  sorcerer  who,  though 
alive  physically,  has  become  morally  dead.  It  is  a  phantasm  shaped 
from  the  dregs  and  elTiuvia  of  matter  by  the  image-creating  power 
of  the  gross  animal  mind.  Of  such  nature  are  the  daimones  and 
''unclean  spirits"  of  the  Nczv  Testament,  where  also  the  "abomina- 
ble stench"  (bdeliigma)  seems  to  be  a  covert  allusion  to  this  mal- 
odorous shade.  This  phantasm  has  the  shadowy  semblance  of  the 
physical  body  from  which  it  was  derived,  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
cloudy  aura  of  brick-red  hue. 

It  should  be  observed  that  in  the  esoteric  cosmogony  the  theory 
of  "dead"  matter  has  no  place.  The  universe  is  a  manifestation  of 
life,  of  consciousness,  from  the  Logos  down  to  the  very  atoms  of 
the  material  elements.  But  in  this  philosophy  a  sharp  distinction  is 
made  between  Being  and  existence :  the  Logos,  the  Archetypal 
world,  is  that  of  True  Being,  changeless  and  eternal ;  while  existence 
is  a  going  outward  into  the  worlds  of  becoming,  of  ceaseless  change 
and  transformation.  The  Nous,  the  immortal  man,  or  mind  (for 
the  mind  should  be  regarded  as  the  real  man),  when  incarnated 


10  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

conies  iinder  tlic  sway  of  this  law  of  inutalion,  cMitering  upon  a  lonj^ 
cycle  of  incarnations,  passing-  from  one  mortal  body  to  anotiier. 
The  metaphysical  aspect  of  this  subject  need  not  be  discussed  here; 
but  it  may  be  said  that  the  fact  of  reincarnation,  so  far  from  being 
mysterious  and  difficult  of  proof,  is  really  \'ery  i)rosaic  and  sinijile, 
so  that  it  has  always  been  treated  as  exoteric  in  all  archaic  religions 
and  philosophies.  Positive  knowledge  of  its  truth,  on  a  basis  of 
personal  experience,  is  one  of  the  first  results  obtained  by  any  one 
who  enters  ui)on  the  initial  stages  of  self-conquest.  It  is  then  a  fact 
as  apparent  to  him  as  are  the  cognate  facts  of  birth  and  death.  The 
telestic  work  has  for  its  object  to  achieve  deliverance  from  reincar- 
nation, and  this  deliverance  is  comi)lete  and  fmal  only  when  the 
deathless  solar  body  is  formed,  and  the  perfected  man  is  thereby 
freed  from  the  necessity  (jf  reincarnating  in  the  mortal  ])hysical  and 
psychic  forms. 

The  ph3'sical  body  may  itself  be  considered  to  be  an  objective 
microcosm,  an  epitome  of  the  material  world,  to  every  department 
of  which  its  organs  and  functions  correspond  and  are  in  direct  rela- 
tion. Moreo\'er,  as  the  organism  through  which  the  soul  contacts 
external  nature,  its  organs  correspond  to.  and  are  the  respective 
instruments  of,  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  soul.  Thus  the  body 
has  four  principal  life-centres  which  are,  roughly  speaking,  ana- 
log-ues  of  the  four  worlds,  and  of  the  four  manifested  generic 
powers  of  the  soul ;  these  four  somatic  divisions  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  head,  or  brain,  is  the  organ  of  the  Nous,  or  higher  mind. 

2.  The  region  of  the  lieart,  inckiding  all  the  organs  above  the 
diaphragm,  is  the  seat  of  the  lower  mind  (phren,  or  thiimos),  in- 
cluding the  psychic  nature. 

3.  The  region  of  the  navel  is  the  centre  of  the  passional  nature 
(cpithnniia),  comprising  the  emotions,  desires  and  passions. 

4.  The  procreative  centre  is  the  seat  of  the  vivifying  forces  on 
the  lowest  plane  of  existence.  This  centre  is  often  ignored  by  an- 
cient writers,  as,  for  instance,  Plato,  who  assigns  four  faculties  to 
the  soul,  but  classifies  only  three  of  the  somatic  divisions,  assigning 
the  Nous,  or  Logos,  to  the  head,  thiiuws  to  the  cardiac  region,  and 
cpitJiioiiia  to  the  region  below  the  midriff.     Others,  however,  give 


GENERAL  IXTRODUCTIOX  ii 

the  fourfold  system,  as  does  Philolaos  the  Pythagorean,  who  placed 
the  seat  and  germ  (archc)  of  reason  in  the  head,  that  of  the  psychic 
principle  in  the  heart,  that  of  growth  and  germination  in  the  navel, 
and  that  of  seed  and  generation  in  the  sexual  parts. 

It  is  unnecessary,  in  this  brief  sketch,  to  go  into  further  details 
concerning  these  correspondences,  save  only  in  regard  to  the  nervous 
system  and  the  forces  operating  through  it.  There  are  two  nervous 
structures:  the  cerebro-spinal,  consisting  of  the  brain  and  the  spinal 
cord;  and  the  sympathetic  or  ganglionic  system.  These  two  struc- 
tures are  virtually  distinct  yet  intimately  associated  in  their  rami- 
fications. The  sympathetic  system  consists  of  a  series  of  distinct 
nerve-centres,  or  ganglia — small  masses  of  vascular  neurine— ex- 
tending on  each  side  of  the  spinal  column  from  the  head  to  the 
coccyx.  Some  knowledge  of  these  ganglia  and  the  forces  associated 
with  them  is  indispensable  in  an  examination  into  the  esoteric  mean- 
ing of  the  Nezv  Testament ;  and  as  their  occult  nature  is  more  fully 
elucidated  in  the  U panishads  than  in  any  other  available  ancient 
works,  the  teaching  therein  contained  will  here  be  referred  to,  and 
their  Sanskrit  terms  employed.  The  ganglia  are  called  chakras, 
"disks,"  and  forty-nine  of  them  are  counted,  of  which  the  seven 
principal  ones  are  the  following:  (i)  sacral  ganglion,  mfdadhdra; 
(2)  prostatic,  adhishthana;  (3)  epigastric,  manipiiraka;  (4)  car- 
diac, anahata;  (5)  pharyngeal,  vishuddhi;  (6)  cavernous,  djnd;  and 
(7)  the  conarium,  saJiasrdra.  Of  these  only  the  seventh,  the  cona- 
rium  or  pineal  body,  need  be  considered  here  with  particularity.  It 
is  a  small  conical,  dark-gray  body  situated  in  the  brain  immediately 
behind  the  extremity  of  the  third  ventricle,  in  a  groove  between  the 
nates,  and  above  a  cavity  filled  with  sabulous  matter  composed  of 
phosphate  and  of  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is  supposed  by  modern 
anatomists  to  be  the  vestige  of  an  atrophied  eye,  and  hence  is  termed 
by  them  "the  unpaired  eye."  Though  atrophied  physically,  it  is  still 
the  organ  of  spiritual  vision  when  its  higher  function  is  restored  by 
the  vivifying  force  of  the  speircma,  or  paraklete,  and  it  is  therefore 
called  esoterically  "the  third  eye,"  the  eye  of  the  seer. 

When,  through  the  action  of  man's  spiritual  will,  whether  by  his 
conscious  effort  or  unconsciously  so  far  as  his  phrenic  mind  is  con- 


Conarium 


Sacral 


Cavernous 


Pharyngeal 


Cardiac 


Midriff 


Epigastric 


Prostatic 


The  Seven  Principal  Ganglia 


GEXERAL  IXTRODUCTIOX  13 

cerned,  the  latent  kitiidalinl  (spcirc))ia),  which  in  the  Upaiiishads  is 
poetically  said  to  lie  coiled  up  like  a  slumbering  serpent,  is  aroused 
to  activity,  it  displaces  the  slow-moving  nervous  force  or  neuricity 
and  becomes  the  agent  of  the  telestic  or  perfecting  work.  As  it 
passes  from  one  ganglion  to  another  its  voltage  is  raised,  the  ganglia 
being  like  so  many  electric  cells  coupled  for  intensity ;  and  moreover 
in  each  ganglion,  or  chakra,  it  liberates  and  partakes  of  the  quality 
peculiar  to  that  centre,  and  it  is  then  said  to  "conquer"  the  cJiakra. 
In  Sanskrit  mystical  literature  very  great  stress  is  laid  upon  this 
"concjuering  of  the  chakras.''  The  currents  of  the  kundaluil,  as  also 
the  channels  they  pursue,  are  called  nddls,  "pipes"  or  "channels," 
and  the  three  principal  ones  are:  (i)  sushumnd,  which  passes  from 
the  terminus  of  the  spinal  cord  to  the  top  of  the  cranium,  at  a  point 
termed  the  hrahmarandra,  or  "door  of  Brahma";  (2)  piiigala, 
which  corresponds  to  the  right  sympathetic;  and  (3)  idd,  which 
corresponds  to  the  left  sympathetic.  The  force,  as  specialized  in 
the  ganglionic  system,  becomes  the  seven  tattras,  which  in  the 
Apocalypse  are  called  the  seven  piicuuiafa,  "breaths,"  since  they 
are  differentiations  of  the  Great  Breath,  the  "\\'orld-Mother,"  sym- 
bolized by  the  moon.  Concurrent  with  these  seven  lunar  forces  are 
five  solar  forces  pertaining  to  the  cerebro-spinal  system,  called  the 
five  prdnas,  "vital  airs,"  or  "life-winds,"  which  in  the  Apocalypse 
are  termed  "winds"  (aucmoi).  The  tattvas,  or  subtile  elements, 
with  the  ganglia  (chakras)  to  which  they  respectively  correspond, 
are  as  follows:  pritJiivi,  "earth,"  sacral;  apas,  "water,"  prostatic; 
tcjas,  "fire,"  epigastric;  vdyu,  "air,"  cardiac;  dkdsha,  "aether," 
pharyngeal;  avyakta,  "undifferentiated,"  cavernous;  and  Brahma, 
"the  Evolver"  (Logos),  conarium.  The  prdnas  are  the  following: 
vydna,  the  "distributing  life-wind,"  connected  with  prithiv'i;  apdiia, 
the  "down-going  life-wind,"  with  apas;  saindna,  the  "uniting  life- 
wind,"  with  tcjas;  prdna,  the  "out-going  life-wind,"  with  vdyu; 
and  udd)ia,  the  "up-going  life-wind,"  with  dkdsJia.  Some  writers 
give  apdna  as  corresponding  with  prithiz'l,  and  zydna  with  apas; 
but  this  is  erroneous.  The  Apocalypse  represents  these  twelve 
forces,  the  seven  "breaths"  and  the  fi\e  "winds,"  as  corresponding 
to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.     This  arrangement  is  shown  In 


14 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 
.^on  of  the   Sa 


Diagram  of  the  Zodiac  and  Correspondences 

the  accompanying  diagram,  w  ith  each  tattvo  placed  in  the  sign  to 
which  its  special  chakra  pertains.  The  Hellenic  Gods  of  Olympos, 
who  were  designated  as  the  Guardian-divinities  of  the  signs,  are 
also  inserted  in  the  diagram  for  the  purpose  of  comparison. 

The  zodiac  is  a  belt  of  the  celestial  sphere,  about  seventeen  de- 
grees in  breadth,  containing  the  twelve  constellations  which  the  sun 
traverses  during  the  year  in  passing  around  the  ecliptic.  Within  this 
zone  are  confined  the  apparent  motions  of  the  moon  and  major 
planets.  The  zodiacal  circle  was  divided  by  the  ancients  into  twelve 
equal  portions  '^'^'led  signs,  "-hich  w^.-e  designated  by  the  names  of 
the  constellations  then  adjacent  to  them  in  the  following  order: 
Aries,  the  Ram ;  Taurus,  the  Bull ;  Gemini,  the  Twins ;  Cancer,  the 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  15 

Crab;  Leo,  the  Lion;  Virgo,  the  Virgin;  Libra,  the  Balance;  Scor- 
pio, the  Scorpion ;  Sagittarins,  the  Bowman ;  Capricornus,  the  Goat ; 
Aquarius,  the  Water-bearer;  and  Pisces,  the  Fishes.  Owing  to  the 
precession  of  the  equinoxes,  the  signs  of  the  echptic  are  now  about 
one  place  ahead  of  the  corresponding  zodiacal  constellations,  which 
constitute  the  fixed  zodiac.  Aside  from  its  astronomical  utility,  the 
scheme  of  the  zodiac  was  employed  to  symbolize  the  relations  be- 
tween the  macrocosm  and  the  microcosm,  each  of  the  twelve  signs 
being  made  to  correspond  to  one  of  the  twelve  greater  Gods  of  the 
ancient  pantheon  and  assigned  as  the  ''house"  of  one  of  the  seven 
sacred  planets ;  each  sign,  moreover,  being  said  to  govern  a  par- 
ticular portion  of  the  human  body,  as  shown  in  the  following  chart. 

^^     


5f^ 


^ 


* 


^ 


>a2^ 


The  Twelve  Signs  of  the  Zodiac 


The  zodiac  is  also  divided  into  four  trigons  ("triangles"),  named 
respectively  after  the  four  manifested  elements,  earth,  water,  fire 
and  air,  to  each  of  which  three  signs  are  ascribed. 

Each  zodiacal  sign  is  divided  into  three  decans,  or  parts  contain- 
ing ten  degrees  each,  there  being  three  hundred  and  sixty  degrees 
in  the  circle;  and  to  each  decan  is  attributed  one  of  the  thirtv-six 


i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

constellations  which  he  north  and  south  of  the  zodiac.  The  constel- 
lations thus  associated  with  a  sign  are  termed  its  paranatellons. 
Thus  there  are  forty-eight  ancient  constellations,  forming,  as  it 
were,  four  zodiacs;  and  the  sun  and  its  planets  may  be  considered 
as  a  sort  of  central  constellation,  thus  making  uj)  the  mystic  number 
forty-nine,  or  seven  times  seven.  Each  of  these  constellations  being 
made  to  symbolize  a  principle,  force  or  faculty  in  man,  the  entire 
scheme  constitutes  a  symbolic  being,  a  celestial  man,  pictured  on  the 
starry  vault.  The  Sun-God  is  the  Self  of  this  "Grand  Man,"  and 
the  four  ([uarters  of  the  zodiac,  with  the  portions  of  the  heavens 
associated  with  them,  are  the  somatic  divisions  of  the  manifested 
form  of  the  Heavenly  Man.  The  element  a.'ther  is  ascribed  to  the 
Regent  of  the  Sun;  and  four  Guardian-Gods,  corresponding  with 
the  four  manifested  elements,  are  designated  as  Regents  of  the 
Four  Regions,  Earth,  Ocean,  Sky,  and  the  Rivers.  In  the  Baby- 
lonian records,  so  far  as  known,  only  twenty- four  paranatellons  are 
given,  and  only  three  Regions  and  Element-Gods,  Anu,  the  Sky- 
God,  Ea,  the  Ocean-God,  and  Bel,  the  Earth-God ;  but  it  is  a  fair 
presumption  that  the  Babylonians  had  all  the  forty-eight  constella- 
tions known  to  the  Greeks,  and  assigned  a  fourth  Region  to  the 
Fire-God,  as  is  done  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  Upanishads,  and  other 
ancient  works.  These  fourfold  manifested  Powers  are,  of  course, 
correlated  with  the  prdnas.  In  the  Apocalypse  the  Region  of  Fire, 
which  corresponds  with  the  Heart-region,  is  termed  "the  Rivers 
and  Springs,"  by  which  are  to  be  understood  the  streams  of  solar 
fire;  in  the  Upa)iisJiads  the  channels  (uddis)  of  the  prdnas  are  said 
to  ramify  from  the  heart. 

The  foregoing  covers  the  topics  which  must  necessarily  be  re- 
ferred to  in  elucidating  the  recondite  meaning  of  the  Xezv  Testa- 
ment; but  to  convey  a  clearer  conception  of  its  practical  and 
psychological  application,  further  explanation  will  now  be  given  of 
the  action  of  the  "serpent  force"  {speirema)  in  the  telestic  or  per- 
fective work.  This  work  has  to  be  preceded  by  the  most  rigid 
purificatory  discipline,  which  includes  strict  celibacy  and  abstemious- 
ness, and  it  is  possible  only  for  the  man  or  woman  who  has  attained 
a  very  high  state  of  mental  and  physical  purity.    To  the  man  who  is 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  17 

gross  and  sensual,  or  whose  mind  is  sullied  by  evil  thoughts  or  con- 
stricted by  bigotry,  the  holy  paraklete  does  not  come ;  the  unpurified 
person  who  rashly  attempts  to  invade  the  adytum  of  his  inner  God 
can  arouse  only  the  lower  psychic  forces  of  his  animal  nature, 
forces  which  are  cruelly  destructive  and  never  regenerative.  The 
neophyte  who  has  acquired  the  "purifying  virtues"  before  entering 
upon  the  systematic  course  of  introspective  meditation  by  which  the 
spiritual  forces  are  awakened,  must  also  as  a  necessary  preliminary 
gain  almost  complete  mastery  of  his  thoughts,  with  the  ability  to 
focus  his  mind  undeviatingly  upon  a  single  detached  idea  or  abstract 
concept,  excluding  from  the  mental  field  all  associated  ideas  and 
irrelevant  notions.  If  successful  in  this  mystic  meditation,  he  even- 
tually obtains  the  power  of  arousing  the  spcirema,  or  paraklete,  and 
can  thereby  at  will  enter  into  the  state  of  uianfcia,  the  sacred  trance 
of  seership.  The  four  mantic  states  are  not  psychic  trances  or  som- 
nambulic conditions;  they  pertain  to  the  noetic,  spiritual  nature ;  and 
in  every  stage  of  the  mantcia  complete  consciousness  and  self-com- 
mand are  retained,  whereas  the  psychic  trances  rarely  transcend  the 
animalistic  phrenic  nature,  and  are  usually  accompanied  by  uncon- 
sciousness or  semi-consciousness. 

Proficiency  in  the  noetic  contemplation,  with  the  arousing  of  the 
speircina  and  the  conquest  of  the  life-centres,  leads  to  knowledge  of 
spiritual  realities  (the  science  of  which  constitutes  the  Gnosis),  and 
the  acquirement  of  certain  mystic  powers,  and  it  culminates  in 
emancipation  from  physical  existence  through  the  "birth  from 
above"  when  the  deathless  solar  body  has  been  fully  formed.  This 
telestic  w^ork  requires  the  unremitting  effort  of  many  years,  not  in 
one  life  only  but  carried  on  through  a  series  of  incarnations  until 
the  final  result  is  achieved.  But  almost  in  its  initial  stages  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  aspirant  becomes  disengaged  from  the  mortal 
phrenic  mind  and  centred  in  the  immortal  noetic  mind,  so  that  from 
incarnation  to  incarnation  his  memory  carries  over,  more  or  less 
clearly  according  to  the  degree  he  has  attained,  the  knowledge  ac- 
quired; and  with  this  unbroken  memory  and  certainty  of  knowledge 
he  is  in  truth  immortal  even  before  his  final  liberation  from  the  cycle 
of  reincarnation. 


i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

In  arousing  the  kiindalinl  by  conscious  effort  in  meditation,  the 
siishumna,  though  it  is  the  all-important  force,  is  ignored,  and  the 
mind  is  concentrated  upon  the  two  side-currents;  for  the  siishumna 
can  not  be  energized  alone,  and  it  does  not  start  into  activity  until 
the  Ida  and  the  piiigala  have  preceded  it,  forming  a  positive  and  a 
negative  current  along  the  spinal  c(jrd.  These  two  currents,  on 
reaching  the  sixth  cliakra,  situated  back  of  the  nasal  passages, 
radiate  to  the  right  and  left,  along  the  line  of  the  eyebrows;  then 
the  sushitnmd,  starting  at  the  base  of  the  spinal  cord,  proceeds  along 
the  spinal  marrow,  its  passage  through  each  section  thereof  (corre- 
sponding to  a  sympathetic  ganglion)  being  accompanied  by  a  violent 
shock,  or  rushing  sensation,  due  to  the  accession  of  force — increased 
"voltage" — until  it  reaches  the  conarium,  and  thence  passes  outward 
through  the  brohinarandra,  the  three  currents  thus  forming  a  cross 
in  the  brain.  In  the  initial  stage  the  seven  psychic  colors  are  seen, 
and  when  the  sushiniiud  impinges  upon  the  brain  there  follows  the 
lofty  consciousness  of  the  seer,  whose  mystic  "third  eye"  now  be- 
comes, as  it  has  been  poetically  expressed,  "a  w^indow  into  space." 
In  the  next  stage,  as  the  brain-centres  are  successively  "raised  from 
the  dead"  by  the  serpent-force,  the  seven  "spiritual  sounds"  are 
heard  in  the  tense  and  vibrant  aura  of  the  seer.  In  the  succeeding 
stage,  sight  and  hearing  become  blended  into  a  single  sense,  by 
which  colors  are  heard,  and  sounds  are  seen — or,  to  word  it  differ- 
ently, color  and  sound  become  one,  and  are  perceived  by  a  sense 
that  is  neither  sight  nor  hearing  but  both.  Similarly,  the  psychic 
senses  of  taste  and  smell  become  unified ;  and  next  the  two  senses 
thus  reduced  from  the  four  are  merged  in  the  interior,  intimate 
sense  of  touch,  which  in  turn  vanishes  into  the  epistemonic  faculty, 
the  gnostic  power  of  the  seer — exalted  above  all  sense-perception — 
to  cognize  eternal  realities.  This  is  the  sacred  trance  called  in 
Sanskrit  samddhi,  and  in  Greek  manteia;  and  in  the  ancient  litera- 
ture of  both  these  languages  four  such  trances  are  spoken  of.  These 
stages  of  seership,  however,  are  but  the  beginning  of  the  telestic 
labor,  the  culmination  of  which  is,  as  already  explained,  rebirth  in 
the  imperishable  solar  body. 


INTRODUCTION  TO 
THE  ANOINTING  OF   lESOUS 

The  Synoptic  Gospels,  when  carefully  compared,  are  seen  to  be 
compilations  evidently  made  from  the  same  source  or  sources,  and 
they  can  not  reasonably  be  regarded  as  independently  written  nar- 
ratives. Though  traditionally  Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke  are  cred- 
ited with  the  authorship  of  these  three  Gospels,  it  is  not  known 
who  Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke  were,  or  when  or  where  the  Gospels 
were  written  or  compiled.  These  names,  as  transliterated  in  the 
Greek  text,  probably  represent  Mattitheah,  Marcus  and  Lucanus, 
the  first  being  a  Jewish  name  (though  this  is  conjectural),  and 
the  others  being  Roman.  In  Part  II  of  this  work  literal  translations 
of  these  Gospels  are  presented,  the  source  from  which  they  were 
drawn  is  suggested,  and  the  literary  methods  by  which  they  have 
been  placed  in  their  present  form  are  traced.  To  afford  a  more 
comprehensive  view  of  their  subject  matter,  a  composite  Gospel  has 
been  constructed  from  the  Synoptics  under  the  title,  "The  Anointing 
of  lesous,"  in  which  all  the  genuine  and  valuable  portions  of  the 
text  are  given,  rearranged  so  as  to  form  a  consistent  narrative.  The 
allegory,  or  lesous-mythos,  as  thus  restored,  is  interpreted  as  a 
whole  and  in  detail.  The  prose  version  and  accompanying  commentary 
are  then  followed  by  a  metrical  version,  "The  Crowning  of  Jesus." 
This  portion  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  esoteric  or  spiritual  mean- 
ing of  the  allegory;  all  other  matters  are  left  for  consideration  in 
Part  II.  But  the  theory  upon  which  the  text  has  been  reconstructed, 
and  the  interpretation  given  the  story  of  lesous,  are  so  directly  in 
conflict  with  the  opinions  commonly  held  to  be  orthodox,  that  it  is 
necessary  to  state  here,  briefly,  what  that  theory  is ;  and,  owing  to 
the  corrupt  and  mutilated  condition  of  the  text,  it  is,  unfortunately, 
impossible  to  confine  the  commentary  wholly  to  esoteric  interpreta- 
tion. 


20  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  three  Gospels  are  treated  as  if  they  were  but  tliree  variants  of 
the  same  text.  The  original  source  from  which  they  were  drawn  is 
considered  to  liave  been  an  allegorical  drama  which  formed  part 
of  the  ritual  of  the  Greek  Mysteries.  As  an  allegory,  this  drama 
was  expressed  in  the  zodiacal  language,  and  hence  has  an  astronom- 
ical rendering  throughout :  its  hero  is  the  Sun-God,  in  this  astro- 
nomical interpretation,  which  is  only  superficial ;  but  in  a  spiritual 
sense  he  is  a  neophyte  undergoing  the  trials  of  initiation,  and  so 
personifies  the  Sun-God.  Judging  by  portions  of  the  text,  the  orig- 
inal drama  was  a  superb  poem ;  but  the  compilers  of  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  had  only  incomplete  prose  notes  of  it,  presumably  made 
from  memory,  and  these  notes  they  could  have  obtained  only  by  dis- 
honorable means.  To  utilize  these  notes  of  the  Mystery-play  as  the 
sacred  waitings  for  a  new  religion,  the  Sun-God  was  made  out  to  be 
a  historical  personage ;  but  to  do  this  the  Greek  setting  of  the  drama 
necessarily  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  so  the  "history"  w^as  staged  in 
Judaea.  The  Sun-God  was  metamorphosed  into  a  Jewish  Messiah 
and  made  out  to  be  a  reincarnation  of  King  David ;  and  the  other 
characters  in  the  play  became  Jews  and  Romans.  The  men  who 
thus  turned  a  Greek  drama  into  Jewish  mock-history  were  not 
Jews,  and  were  ignorant  of  the  Hebrew  language.  They  wrote,  in 
the  unmistakably  amateurish  style  of  uncultured  men,  the  common 
Greek  vernacular  of  their  day,  a  debased  form  of  the  Attic  dialect ; 
and  their  only  sources  of  information  concerning  the  Jews  were  the 
Greek  version  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  (the  Septuagint)  and  the 
writings  of  Josephus  and  Tacitus.  Their  ignorance  of  Jewish  cus- 
toms and  of  the  geographical  features  of  Palestine  is  everywhere 
apparent  in  their  work;  and  the  Jewish  coloring  which  they  have 
given  the  narrative  rubs  off  like  a  cheap  paint  as  one  turns  the  pages 
of  the  Gospels,  revealing  a  solar  allegory  which  is  Hellenic  in  form 
and  substance.  The  work  of  the  forgers  was  not  all  done  at  one 
time ;  the  text  shows  several  successive  stages  of  degradation.  The 
first  compilers,  being  "pagan"  Greeks,  were  familiar  with  the  doc- 
trine of  reincarnation ;  and  they  connected  their  new  "history"  with 
the  Jewish  sacred  writings  by  making  out  that  its  characters  were 
reincarnated  Jewish  worthies.     But  as  the  new  religion  developed. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  21 

abandoning,  one  after  another,  the  basic  truths  of  the  great  rehgions 
of  antiquity,  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation  was  eventually  repu- 
diated, and  the  new  scriptures  were  made  to  centre  wholly  on  the 
Messianic  idea,  while  the  distinctively  Christian  doctrine  of  eternal 
damnation  was  formulated  and  made  a  lurid  feature  of  the  new  cult. 
The  literary  peculiarities  of  the  text  show  conclusively  that  the 
period  of  ''inspiration"  during  which  the  Gospels  were  revised  to 
suit  the  growing  theological  notions  of  the  fanatics  of  the  new  faith 
extended  over  several  centuries.  The  erasing-knife  and  sponge 
paved  the  way  for  the  "inspired"  pens  of  the  priests  who  were  slowly 
formulating  the  Christian  religion ;  for  the  early  theologians,  in- 
stead of  deriving  their  doctrines  from  their  "revealed"  scriptures, 
revised  the  scriptures  to  suit  the  policy  of  the  church. 

A  complete  restoration  of  the  original  drama  is  of  course  impos- 
sible: the  compilers  could  not  have  had  access  to  the  original  text  of 
the  sacred  Alystery-play ;  they  had  only  imperfect  notes  of  it,  which 
they  used  for  a  dishonest  purpose.  Their  work  shows  that  they  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  esoteric  meaning  of  the  myth,  and  that  they 
were  men  without  culture,  literary  training,  inventiveness  or  imagi- 
nation. They  were  simply  exoteric  priests,  coarse,  cunning  and  un- 
scrupulous. But,  fortunately,  the  essential  elements  of  the  allegory 
have  been  preserved — thanks  to  the  very  ignorance  of  the  ecclesias- 
tics through  whose  hands  it  has  passed — and  an  approximate 
restoration  of  the  lesous-mythos  is  here  submitted,  with  the  pseudo- 
Jewish  features  and  theological  interpolations  eliminated.  The 
translation,  under  the  title  "The  Crowning  of  Jesus,"  is  in  verse,  and 
follows  the  narrative  style,  without  attempting  to  restore  the 
dramatic  form  in  which  the  original  poem  was  undoubtedly  cast. 
The  prose  version,  "The  Anointing  of  lesous,"  is  presented  merely 
as  a  basis  for  the  commentary. 

The  narrative  begins,  as  in  Mark,  with  the  appearance  of  loannes, 
"the  baptist."  All  the  introductory  matter  in  Matthew  and  Luke, 
telling  of  the  birth  of  lesous  and  of  loannes,  is  unquestionably 
spurious.  The  drama,  which  as  a  whole  is  an  allegory  of  the  initia- 
tion of  lesous,  that  is,  of  his  spiritual  rebirth,  is  not  concerned  with 
the  birth  of  his  physical  body,  the  incidents  of  his  childhood,  or,  in 


22  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

fact,  with  anything-  relating  to  the  pers(;nal  Hfe,  or  external  phases 
of  existence;  but  the  "historicized"  version  of  the  niythos  was  seen 
to  be  incomplete  without  some  account  of  the  early  days  of  lesous, 
and  so,  later  on,  these  forgeries  were  added  to  the  text  by  the  priests 
who  were  constantly  trying  to  improve  the  scriptures. 

In  his  true  Hellenic  character  loannes  (whose  name  appears  to  be 
a  variant  of  Oannes)  is  "the  bather,"  6vhpdvo<s,  the  Hierophant  of 
the  Lesser  Mysteries.  Here,  as  in  other  instances,  the  Greek  text 
has  been  falsified  by  substituting  for  a  pagan  Mystery-term  a  com- 
monplace synonym,  in  the  ineffectual  attempt  to  conceal  the  pagan 
origin  of  the  whole  story.  In  the  text  hydranos  has  been  replaced 
by  haptistcs,  "baptist,"  and  ho  haptizon,  "the  baptizer."  But  bap- 
tistcs  is  properly  "a  dyer";  the  substitution  is  not  clever,  not  even 
specious,  but  the  forger  had  to  get  rid  of  the  word  hydranos,  which 
even  the  most  ignorant  Greek  would  have  recognized  as  the  title 
of  the  lesser  hierophant.  This  rite  of  lustration,  a  symbolic  purifica- 
tion by  water,  was  not  employed  by  the  Jews,  and  is  not  mentioned 
in  their  scriptures;  but  it  was  the  most  important  ceremony  in  the 
Lesser  JMysterics  of  the  Greeks. 

In  the  action  of  the  drama  there  are  seven  great  scenic  spectacles; 
and  the  lustration  of  the  candidates  by  loannes  is  the  first  of  these. 
Representatives  of  four  classes  of  people  come  to  the  Hydranos  to 
receive  his  lustral  rite  and  to  be  instructed  in  their  duties.  They  are 
men  of  learning,  soldiers,  merchants,  and  laborers,  corresponding 
to  the  four  oriental  castes ;  and  in  the  performance  of  the  drama 
they  would  wear  the  costumes  and  carry  the  implements  appropriate 
to  their  respective  callings.  In  the  allegory  they  personify  the  forces 
of  the  four  somatic  divisions;  they  are  therefore  said  to  come  from 
the  four  regions  bordered  by  the  sacred  river — the  life-current  in 
the  spinal  cord.  In  the  Synoptics  most  of  the  instructions  here  given 
by  loannes  have  been  transferred  to  the  discourses  of  lesous,  and 
are  therefore  dislocated  in  the  so-called  "sermon  on  the  mount"  and 
elsewhere. 

loannes  announces  the  coming  of  the  greater  hierophant,  the  Fan- 
bearer,  who  lustrates,  not  with  Water,  but  with  Air  and  Fire.  The 
degrees  of  initiation  were  thus  designated  by  the  sacred  elements, 


IXTRODUCTIOX  TO  THE  AXOIXTIXG  OF  lESOUS  2^ 

the  fourth  being  that  of  Earth :  the  Eleusinian  Initiates  were  said  to 
descend  into  the  Earth  and  be  reborn  therefrom.  Following-  this 
announcement,  lesous  comes  to  submit  himself  to  the  symbolic  rite 
of  purification  by  water.  He  represents  the  fifth  or  super-caste  of 
men,  who  have  attained  to  the  noetic  consciousness;  therefore  he 
personifies  the  Xous  as  the  Sun-God.  The  solar  Dionysos  was 
called  6  XiKvirr]^,  ''he  of  the  Fan" ;  and  the  sacred  winnowing- fan 
was  carried  in  the  procession  at  the  festival  of  the  Sun-God. 
loannes,  after  making  a  show  of  unwillingness  to  administer  his 
purifying  rite  to  one  apparently  so  much  greater  than  himself,  con- 
secrates lesous,  who  is  thereupon  acknowledged  as  a  worthy  candi- 
date by  a  divine  Voice  from  the  celestial  Air,  the  Pneuma.  The 
candidate  is  accepted,  and  has  received  the  first  of  the  four  initia- 
tions described  in  the  text,  and  which  are  symbolized  by  the  sacred 
elements,  water,  air,  fire,  and  earth.  He  is  now  a  Chrestos,  an 
accepted  candidate  for  the  higher  degrees ;  not  until  after  the  initia- 
tion of  Earth  does  he  become  a  Christos,  "anointed  one,"  or  King. 
In  the  Greek  text  Chrestos  has  been  fraudulently  changed  to  Chris- 
tos, to  sustain  the  Messianic  claim.  Immediately  thereafter,  in  the 
desert,  or  solitude,  lesous  is  subjected  to  tests,  or  temptations,  by  the 
evil  Serpent  and  the  Wild-beasts.  These  beasts,  here  as  in  the 
Apocalypse,  are  the  forces  and  faculties  of  the  lower  nature,  which 
the  candidate  has  aroused,  and  which  he  must  conquer.  By  con- 
secrating lesous,  thereby  arousing  these  lower  forces,  loannes  hands 
him  over  to  the  tempter,  the  Serpent ;  this  is  the  first  Tra/JctSocrt?, 
"handing  over,"  the  final  one  being  made  by  loudas,  who  hands 
lesous  over  to  be  crucified. 

As  the  forerunner  of  lesous,  loannes  officiates  as  a  herald,  and  he 
proclaims  that  "the  realm  of  the  skies  has  drawn  near."  After  he 
has  come  forth  as  a  conqueror  from  the  ordeals  of  temptation, 
lesous  repeats  this  proclamation.  This  curious  phrase,  "the  realm 
of  the  skies,"  is  found  only  in  Matthezv,  w^here  it  occurs  about 
thirty-three  times ;  the  text  of  Mark  and  Luke  gives  as  a  substitute 
for  it  "the  realm  of  God."  In  this,  as  in  many  other  instances,  the 
text  of  Matthezv  is  more  authentic  and  complete  than  the  others. 
The  theologians,  ignoring  the  plural  form  of  the  noun,  translate  the 


24  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

phrase,  *'the  king-doni  of  heaven,"  and  claim  that  it  apphes  to  the 
Messianic  kingdom  which  lesous  was  about  to  estabhsh  on  earth. 
But  the  kingdom  was  said  to  have  "drawn  near"  two  thousand  years 
ago;  hence,  unless  lesous  and  loannes  were  incompetent  prophets, 
the  theologians  are,  as  usual,  wrong  in  their  interpretation.  No 
such  kingdom  has  been  or  ever  will  be  established  in  the  "sphere  of 
generation";  as  long  as  men  continue  to  be  "born  of  women,"  re- 
maining in  the  animal-human  stage  of  evolution,  they  will  neces- 
sarily be  under  the  sway  of  death,  and  will  have  to  endure  the 
miseries  of  material  existence.  The  phrase,  "the  realm  of  the  skies," 
can  not  apply  to  any  material  kingdom,  nor  does  it  refer  to  the 
seven  planetary  "heavens,"  or  subjective  worlds :  it  signifies  the 
regions,  or  rather  divisions,  of  the  sky,  as  mapped  out  by  the  forty- 
eight  ancient  constellations,  or  groups  of  fixed  stars,  including 
the  zodiacal  constellations,  wdiich  mark  the  path  of  the  sun  and 
planets,  the  solar  system  itself  constituting  the  forty-ninth  constella- 
tion. In  the  zodiacal  terminology,  each  of  these  constellations 
represented  one  of  the  principles,  faculties  or  forces  of  man,  so  that 
collectively  they  constituted  "the  Heavenly  Man,"  a  celestial  type  of 
the  human  being,  not  merely  as  he  is  manifested  on  earth,  the  "gen- 
erative sphere,"  but  as  he  really  is  in  the  completeness  of  his  occult 
nature,  with  all  his  psychic  and  spiritual  qualities  and  powers.  "The 
realm  of  the  starry  spaces"  is  therefore  the  totality  of  man's  sub- 
jective nature,  from  his  psychic  personality  up  to  his  divine  Self. 
He  who  obtains  that  kingdom  reigns  over — himself.  He  obtains 
the  kingdom  through  his  own  efforts,  by  purifying  himself,  mould- 
ing his  own  character,  developing  his  own  individuality,  and  seeking 
to  attain  to  union  with  his  own  inner  God,  that  supernal  Self  of 
him,  who  is  for  him  the  true  Messiah  who  alone  can  crown  him 
with  immortality. 

lesous  is  "the  Son  of  the  Man,"  that  is,  of  the  ideal  Heavenly 
Man,  the  Starry  King.  With  the  awakening  of  the  inner  senses, 
and  the  energizing  of  the  psychic  potencies  symbolized  by  the  living 
w^ater  of  the  sacred  stream,  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  has  draw'n 
near  to  him ;  but  it  is  only  through  the  mystic  crucifixion  that  he 
becomes  the  anointed  king  of  that  realm.     For  the  lesous  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  25 

allegory  is  not  a  Messiah,  or  Avatar,  a  special  incarnation  of  the 
Logos.  The  Messianic  legend  is  foreign  to  the  real  narrative,  and 
has  been  woven  into  the  text  by  the  ecclesiastical  forgers.  lesoiis  is 
not  the  "Savior  of  the  World,"  even  allegorically,  other  than  in  the 
sense  that  every  man  who  emancipates  himself  from  the  bondage  of 
matter  and  attains  to  spiritual  self -consciousness  in  the  Logos  is 
indeed  a  savior  of  the  world.  As  the  hero  of  this  allegorical  drama, 
he  first  appears  on  the  scene  as  a  neophyte,  a  candidate  for  initiation 
into  the  spiritual  mysteries ;  yet  he  personifies  the  Sun-God,  and 
speaks  as  the  Hierophant  of  the  Greater  Mysteries  even  before  being 
initiated  by  Idannes  into  the  lesser  rites.  For  the  neophyte  must 
thus  affirm  to  himself,  constantly  and  with  fervent  faith,  that  he  is 
in  truth  the  Sun-God,  the  deathless  Self,  and  that  within  himself  is 
that  great  Hierophant,  the  Master  of  Wisdom.  Thus  lesous,  as  a 
neophyte,  confidently  proclaims  himself  to  be  the  king  of  the  starry 
spaces,  even  while  he  is  yet  only  a  Chrestos,  a  noble  and  worthy 
aspirant,  but  unanointed,  uncrowned.  Nowhere  in  the  narrative,  as 
found  in  the  mutilated  text,  is  there  any  record  of  his  being  anointed 
either  as  priest  or  king.  As  will  be  shown  later,  his  crucifixion  is  in 
fact  his  anointing,  and  at  his  resurrection  he  appears  as  the  Christos, 
the  Anointed  King.  The  sublime  confidence  of  this  aspirant,  this 
uncrowned  king,  who  goes  forward  serenely  to  his  mighty  destiny, 
is  impressively  depicted  throughout  the  allegory.  His  faith  in  him- 
self is  absolute  and  unwavering.  His  immediate  disciples  and  the 
lowly  untaught  common  people  place  almost  implicit  confidence  in 
him;  but  the  conventional  scholars  and  the  materialists  scornfully 
reject  his  claim  to  divinity,  while  the  orthodox  religionists,  the 
priests,  envious  of  his  popularity  and  hating  him  for  the  purity  of 
his  teaching  and  because  of  his  stern  denunciation  of  hypocrisy  and 
priestcraft,  conspire  to  bring  about  his  death.  It  is  satire,  trenchant 
and  unconcealed,  yet  the  class  of  men  against  whom  it  is  directed 
have,  for  nearly  two  thousand  years,  failed  to  perceive  that  it  is 
directed  against  themselves  and  all  their  kind.  But  it  is  far  more 
than  satire :  it  is  an  allegory  of  the  conflict  between  the  phrenic  in- 
tellect, the  beast-mind  of  man,  and  the  noetic,  the  intuitional  mind; 
and  this  conflict,  in  the  religious  world,  takes  the  form  of  fanatical 


26  IJIE  KiCSTORKD  NEW    llCSTAMIixVT 

opposition,  by  the  advocates  of  exoteric  religion,  with  its  irrational 
dogmas  and  rituahstic  worship  of  mythical  Gods  or  the  anthropo- 
morphized conception  of  a  supreme  God,  to  the  investigation  of 
truth,  the  development  of  a  nobler  faith,  and  the  progress  of  man- 
kind towards  the  divine  life. 

Next  after  the  temptations  in  the  desert,  lesous  calls  f(jur  disciples, 
Simon  and  Andreas,  and  loannes  and  lakobos.  As  lesous,  the  Sun- 
God,  represents  the  Nous,  these  disciples  are  the  four  manifested 
noetic  ]K)wers.  He  then  calls  a  fifth  disciple.  Now,  in  the  alle- 
gorical rendering,  this  fifth  disciple  is  the  unmanifested,  concealed 
force  of  the  Nous;  as  such  he  is  the  highest  and  holiest  of  all  the 
disciples,  the  one  who  must  make  the  final  paradosis,  "handing  over" 
lesous  to  the  ordeals  of  the  fourth  initiation,  even  as  loannes  made 
the  first  paradosis.  The  disciple  who  hands  lesous  over  to  be  cruci- 
fied is  loudas.  But  the  priests  who  historicized  the  myth  converted 
this  action  of  loudas  into  a  base  betrayal  of  his  Master;  and  having 
thus  made  out  that  loudas  was  a  despicable  traitor,  they  expunged 
his  name  from  the  text  wherever  possible.  Except  where  his  treach- 
ery is  narrated,  and  in  the  pseudo-list  of  twelve  disciples,  he  is 
mentioned  only  as  "one  of  the  disciples,"  or  "a  certain  young  man." 
or  else,  more  frequently,  for  his  name  that  of  Simon  has  been  sub- 
stituted, apparently  to  add  to  the  glory  of  Simon,  who,  under  the 
surname  "Peter,"  had  been  adopted  as  the  founder  and  patron  saint 
of  the  church.  But  in  designating  the  fifth  disciple  in  the  incident 
where  lesous  first  calls  him  another  name  was  desirable,  to  displace 
the  name  loudas ;  so  in  Matthew  the  forgers  inserted  Matthias 
("Matthe\v"),  and  in  Mark  and  Luke,  Lcu'i  or  Lciieis  ("Levi"), 
while  in  Mark  some  manuscripts  give  the  name  as  lakdbos 
("James").  This  substituted  "Matthew,"  or  "Levi,"  is  not  men- 
tioned again  anywhere  else  in  the  Synoptics. 

To  these  five  disciples,  who  represent  the  noetic  powers,  or  prdnas, 
lesous  adds  seven  others,  the  psychical  forces,  or  tattvas;  these 
twelve  he  chooses  to  be  his  companions,  "to  be  with  him,"  and  quite 
naturally  so,  for  in  the  astronomical  rendering  of  the  allegory  lesous 
is  the  Sun  and  his  companions  are  the  twelve  zodiacal  constellations. 
He  next  appoints  seventy-two  other  disciples,  and  sends  them  forth 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  27 

"two  by  two,"  or  as  thirty-six  duads.  Now,  in  the  falsified  text,  the 
twelve  and  the  seventy-two  are  alike  termed  apostles;  but,  as  the 
word  apostolos  means  a  "messenger,"  it  is  clear  that  while  the  sev- 
enty-two are  apostles  the  twelve  most  certainly  are  not.  The  priestly 
forg-ers,  in  their  desire  to  further  the  "apostolic"  claims  of  their 
church,  have  turned  the  twelve  into  apostles,  and  have  endeavored 
to  conceal  the  true  nature  of  the  seventy-two  messengers.  In  the 
instructions  given  by  lesous  to  the  disciples  who  are  sent  forth  he 
mentions  the  distinctive  properties  belonging  to  Hermes,  the  Mes- 
senger and  Interpreter  of  the  Gods — the  staff,  the  purse,  the  sandals 
and  the  single  tunic.  The  messengers  are  told  to  be  "as  crafty  as 
the  serpents  [of  Hermes]  and  as  guileless  as  the  doves  [of  Aphro- 
dite]." Hermes  was  an  androg}'nous,  male-female  God,  his  female 
aspect  being  represented  by  xAphrodite :  in  ancient  Greece  composite 
statues  of  the  two  were  common.  The  seventy-two  messengers  are 
androgynes,  each  duad  personifying  Hermes- Aphrodite.  The  word 
apostolos  is  simply  an  implausible  substitute  for  Hermes ;  and  these 
disciples  who  are  sent  forth  as  messengers  are  the  thirty-six  parana- 
tellons.  the  extra-zodiacal  constellations.  Hermes  is  the  Guardian- 
God  of  the  sign  Cancer,  which  denotes  the  northern  limit  of  the 
sun's  course  in  summer,  and  hence  is  the  sign  of  the  summer  solstice. 
The  Ass  on  which  lesous  rides  when  entering  the  sacred  city  is 
found  as  a  star  in  Cancer;  the  southern  paranatellon  of  Cancer  is 
Argo  Navis,  the  Ship  in  which  lesous  and  the  twelve  embark  on 
certain  of  their  journeyings,  and  the  northern  paranatellon  of  the 
sign  is  Ursa  Minor,  which  is  intimately  associated  with  the  Pole- 
ftar.  The  contour  of  the  Lesser  Bear  is  marked  out  by  seven  stars; 
of  these,  four  constitute  a  four-sided  figure,  which  was  called  by  the 
ancients  the  "Enclosure  of  Life,"  the  Pole-star  being  the  "Lord  of 
the  Enclosure."  Thus  Cancer,  the  great  northern  "gate"  of  the 
zodiac,  is  associated  with  the  Pole-star,  which  remains  apparently 
motionless  in  the  highest  point  of  the  heavens,  and  around  which 
all  the  constellations  seemingly  revolve ;  and  Hermes,  as  the 
Guardian-God  of  Cancer,  is  related  in  a  special  manner  to  all  the 
paranatellons.  In  the  allegory  the  thirty-six  dual  messengers  per- 
sonify the  forces  of  the  androgynous  man,  the  powers  of  Thought 


28  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

and  Love,  of  which  Hermes  and  Aphrodite  are  tlie  deified  per- 
sonifications. 

The  twelve  companions  of  lesoiis  correspond  to  the  Olympian 
Deities,  six  of  whom  were  Gods  and  six  were  Goddesses.  In  the 
"historicized"  text  all  the  twelve  companions  are  men  ;  but  the  names 
of  seven  of  them  are  substitutes  for  feminine  names.  In  Mark  vi.  3 
and  Malfliezu  xiii.  55  the  brothers  of  lesous  are  given  as  lakobos, 
loses,  Simon  and  loudas :  these  are  the  names  of  four  of  his  male 
companions,  Joannes  having  been  changed  to  loses ;  and  Andreas  is 
omitted.  The  sisters  of  lesous  are  also  mentioned,  but  their  names 
are  not  given,  and  it  is  not  stated  how  many  of  them  he  had.  A 
careful  analysis  of  the  allegory,  however,  shows  that  lesous  had 
five  brothers,  personifying  the  prduas,  and  seven  sisters,  personify- 
ing the  tattvas. 

Pending  the  return  of  the  seventy-two  "apostles,"  lesous  and  his 
twelve  "companions,"  who  are  his  five  brothers  and  seven  sisters, 
embark  in  the  Ship  and  repair  to  a  "desert  spot"  for  an  outing.  The 
people,  however,  see  them  going,  and  follow  them  in  crowds.  Late 
in  the  afternoon  it  develops  that  the  self-invited  multitude  have 
brought  no  food,  while  the  tw^elve  companions  have  provided  only 
five  loaves  and  two  fishes.  There  are  4.900  people  (the  text  says, 
in  round  numbers,  "about  5,000")  ;  and  lesous  directs  that  they 
form  into  forty-nine  groups  of  one  hundred  each— the  text  says,  "in 
groups  of  about  fifty,"  but  the  allegory  plainly  indicates  that  the 
numbers  should  be  multiples  of  the  sacred  number  seven.  lesous 
then  divides  the  five  loaves  and  two  fishes  among  the  twelve  com- 
panions, who  distribute  them  to  the  forty-nine  mess-groups;  and 
after  the  repast  twelve  baskets  are  filled  with  the  left-over  frag- 
ments. This  allegory  relates  to  the  allotment  of  the  seven  sacred 
planets,  and  the  planetary  influences,  to  the  tw^elve  zodiacal  signs 
and  the  paranatellons,  synthesized  in  the  solar  system  itself  as  the 
forty-ninth  constellation.  The  five  loaves  are  the  male  planets, 
Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Sun  and  Mercury ;  and  the  two  fishes  are  the 
female  planets,  Venus  and  Moon.  The  fish  is  preeminently  a  female 
symbol.  The  Ship  is  the  southern  paranatellon  of  Cancer;  and  the 
"desert  spot"  is  the  point  of  the  summer  solstice,  there  being  no 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  29 

conspicuous  stars  in  that  portion  of  the  heavens.  In  the  zodiacal 
scheme,  Cancer  and  Leo,  the  two  signs  nearest  the  northern  hmit  of 
the  sun's  course,  and  which  are  therefore  regarded  as  the  two  high- 
est solar  thrones,  are  assigned  to  the  Moon  and  the  Sun.  The  two 
next  highest  thrones  are  assigned  to  Mercury,  the  planet  nearest  to 
the  Sun,  and  so  on,  each  planet,  in  the  order  of  its  proximity  to  the 
Sun,  receiving  two  signs.  In  Mark  (vi.  39,  40)  the  mess-parties 
are  said  to  recline  on  the  greensward  in  plots  like  garden-beds 
(irpacnal  Trpacnai):  they  thus  represent  the  constellations  into 
which  the  starry  sky  is  divided.  Thus  in  the  allegory  the  forty-nine 
stellar  divisions  are  permeated  by  the  septenary  planetary  influences, 
the  differentiations  of  the  forces  being  expressed  by  multiplying  the 
forty-nine  by  one  hundred ;  yet  each  of  the  twelve  companions,  the 
Regents  of  the  zodiacal  houses,  gathers  up  a  full  basket  after  the 
feast. 

The  seventy-two  messengers  return,  rejoicing  over  their  conquest 
of  the  evil  spirits,  and  lesous  tells  them  that  he  has  seen  the  Serpent 
falling  from  heaven.  Thus  they  return  victorious  from  the  war  in 
heaven,  and  lesous  bids  them  rejoice  because  their  names  are 
"written  in  the  skies"  —  and  he  might  have  added,  in  the  star-maps 
as  well.  Michael,  who  in  the  Apocalypse  expels  the  Dragon,  the 
evil  Serpent,  from  heaven,  is  identical  with  Hermes.  The  whole  of 
this  scene,  from  the  calling  of  the  disciples  on  the  mount  (that  is, 
Olympos)  to  the  return  of  the  seventy-two,  is  a  ritualistic  represen- 
tation of  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies;  it  is  a  version  of 
the  "Kosmos-dance"  of  the  Mysteries. 

When  he  starts  on  his  journey  to  the  sacred  city,  lesous  predicts 
to  his  disciples  that  he  will  be  crucified  and  will  be  raised  from  "the 
dead."  This  is  but  a  mystical  way  of  saying  that  he  is  to  be  ini- 
tiated and  will  attain  to  conscious  immortality.  But  Simon  accepts 
the  statement  with  wooden  literalism ;  whereupon  lesous  rebukes 
him,  characterizing  him  as  the  mind  that  understands  human  affairs 
only,  and  has  no  grasp  on  things  divine.  Here  Simon  represents  the 
reasoning  faculty.  On  the  seventh  day  of  the  journey  lesous  goes 
to  a  lofty  mountain,  and  is  accompanied  by  loudas,  loannes  and 
lakobos.    In  the  text  the  forgers  have  substituted  Simon  for  loudas ; 


30  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

but  here  Simon  is  impossible.  loiidas,  as  siishunina,  the  central 
nddi,  necessarily  goes  with  the  two  companions  who  represent  Ida 
and  pingala.  The  "mountain"  to  which  they  come  on  the  seventh 
day  is  the  seventh  of  the  chakras.  Here  lesous  undergoes  a  trans- 
formation :  the  Sun-God  temi)orarily  manifests  through  him.  With 
him  appear  two  other  radiant  beings ;  they  are  said  in  the  text  to 
be  Moses  and  Elijah,  but  that  spiritualistic  version  must  be  rejected 
as  a  pseudo-Jewish  touch  added  by  the  forgers.  These  two  appari- 
tions represent  the  two  super-physical  bodies  which  with  the  physical 
form  comprise  the  three  habitations  of  the  Self. 

Having  entered  the  city,  Icsous  proceeds  forthwith  to  purify  the 
temple.  Then,  in  the  house  of  the  "man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water" 
(the  Regent  of  the  Aquarius-quarter  of  the  zodiac)  he  and  his 
twelve  companions  celebrate  the  "last  supper,"  after  which  follows 
the  final  paradosis,  or  "handing  over"  of  lesous  to  the  ordeal  of  the 
crucifixion,  which  is  followed  by  his  resurrection.  As  a  brief  sum- 
mary of  this  portion  of  the  sacred  drama  would  be  unsatisfactory, 
the  consideration  of  it  will  be  deferred  to  the  commentary. 

In  the  narrative  as  here  restored  the  main  events  follow  the  order 
in  which  they  are  found  in  the  Syjwptics;  but  many  portions  of  the 
text,  especially  those  which  are  discordantly  placed  in  the  Synoptics, 
are  transferred  to  the  positions  w'here  they  evidently  belong,  and  the 
scattered  discourses  and  sayings  are  subjoined  to  the  events  to  which 
they  appropriately  relate,  and  are  so  combined  as  to  afford  an  or- 
derly and  topical  statement  of  the  teachings  they  contain.  Every- 
thing wdiich  the  present  author  considers  spurious  has  been  excluded 
from  the  text;  yet  among  the  rejected  passages  there  is  nothing  of 
any  real  ethical  value  or  literary  beauty  except  the  one  sentence, 
"Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do"  —  a  saying 
which  fails  to  fit  the  context  and  has  no  good  authority  in  the  manu- 
scripts. 

In  justice  to  the  Jews,  who  have  been  infamously  maligned  by  the 
priestly  forgers  who  concocted  the  pseudo- Jewish  "history"  in 
which  the  orthodox  Jews  and  their  priests  were  vilified  and  made 
out  to  be  the  murderers  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  justice  also  to  the 
"pagan"  Greeks,  from  whose  sacred  literature  the  original  allegory 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  31 

was  undoubtedly  stolen,  the  narrative  has  been  stripped  of  its  ill- 
fitting-  Jewish  disguise  and  restored  to  an  Hellenic  garb.  With  the 
elimination  of  the  badly  written  interpolations,  which  have  no 
literary  or  moral  merit,  and  also  of  the  misapplied  and  misquoted 
passages  taken  from  the  Jewish  scriptures  and  foisted  in  the  text, 
nothing  distinctively  Hebraic  remains  in  the  narrative  except  per- 
sonal and  place-names  and  the  names  of  certain  sects,  all  of  w-hich 
are  dishonest  substitutes.  In  the  restored  narrative  the  names  of  the 
principal  characters  are  retained,  their  Hellenic  correspondences 
being  pointed  out  in  the  commentary ;  but  all  place-names  are 
omitted,  and  instead  of  such  names  as  "Pharisees"  and  "Sadducees" 
equivalent  expressions  are  given.  The  "Pharisees,"  for  instance, 
are  replaced  by  "the  orthodox"  or  by  "exoteric  priests."  His- 
torically the  Pharisees  merely  represented  the  national  faith  of 
orthodox  Judaism.  A  free  translation  of  the  Greek  text,  as  thus 
emended,  has  been  made ;  and  with  the  purpose  of  undoing,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  work  of  the  forgers  who  "historicized"  the  drama, 
certain  passages  which  they  have  left  in  an  almost  hopelessly  muti- 
lated state  have  been  made  to  harmonize  with  Greek  philosophy 
and  mysticism ;  but  whenever  a  passage  thus  varies  from  the  text 
the  fact  is  noted  in  the  commentary.  The  word  ^eog,  "God,"  is 
rendered  "All-Father";  and  ayyeXot,  "angels,"  is  rendered  "Gods." 
The  "angels"  in  the  Nezv  Testament  are  simply  Greek  Gods  in  a  Jew- 
ish disguise ;  and  Philon  Judaios,  who  certainly  knew,  asserted  that 
the  angels  of  the  Jewish  writings  are  identical  with  the  Greek  Deities. 
The  characters  of  the  drama,  not  including  those  who  appear  only 
in  minor  incidents,  or  episodes,  are  the  following : 

Iesous,  the  Worthy  Candidate ;  personifying  the  Sun-God. 
loANNES  THE  Hydranos,  the  Hicrophant  of  the  Lesser  jMysteries; 

personifying  the  Moon-God. 
louDAS,  Regent  of  Aries, 

loANNES,  Regent  of  Taurus.  The  Five  Brothers  of  Iesous; 

Iakobos,  Regent  of  Gemini,       [-personifying  Guardian-Gods  of  the 
Simon,  Regent  of  Pisces,  Zodiacal  Signs. 

Andreas,  Regent  of  Aquarius,, 


32  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Seven  Sisters  of  Iesous;  personifying  the  Guardian-Goddesses 
of  the  Zodiacal  Signs  from  Cancer  to  Capricornus. 

Seventy-two  Messengers,  in  Divine  Duads;  personifying  the 
Thirty-six  Extra-zodiacal  Constellations,  the  Paranatellons. 

losEPH  the  Carpenter,  the  Father  of  Iesous;  personifying  the 
Demiourgos,  the  World-builder. 

Mariam,  the  Mother  of  Iesous;  personifying  the  Celestial  ^ther, 
or  Higher  World-Soul. 

Mariam  the  Temple-woman  (one  of  the  Seven  Sisters)  ;  per- 
sonifying the  Terrestrial  ^^ther,  or  Lower  World-Soul. 

Orthodox  Religionists,    "] 

Conventional  Scholars,  i- representing  the  Intellectual  Caste. 

Materialists,  J 

Soldiers,  representing  the  Military  Caste. 

Merchants,  representing  the  Commercial  Caste. 

Common  People,  representing  the  Laboring  Caste. 

Rabble  of  Outcasts. 

Head-priest,  Priests,  Temple-guards  and  Servants, 

Tetrarch  and  Soldiers. 

Iesous  Barabbas  and  Two  Malefactors. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 

I 

THE  INITIATION  BY  WATER- PSYCHIC  DEGREE; 

LUNAR 

I.    The  Four  Grades  of  Men — The  Forces 
of  the  Four  Somatic  Divisions 

The  Lesser  Hierophant  Purifies  Candidates  in  the  Living  Stream 
[Mk.  i.  4.     Matt.  iii.  i,  2,  5,  6] 

To  the  sacred  plain  came  loannes,  hierophant  of  the  lustra^  rite, 
he  who  elucidates  the  purifying  virtues  to  the  four  grades  of  men 
who  are  the  head,  the  heart,  the  soul  and  the  seed  of  every  nation. 
By  the  bank  of  the  stream,  wherein  are  bathed  all  aspirants  who  turn 
from  the  wide  way  of  sin  to  tread  the  path  of  purity  and  peace,  he 
stood,  and  the  exultant  hills  echoed  his  clarion  cry : 

"Cleanse  ye  both  mind  and  heart ;  for  the  realm  of  the  starry 
spaces  has  drawn  near." 

Then  from  the  sacred  city,  and  from  the  four  regions  bordered 
by  the  crystal  river,  came  aspirants  to  be  lustrated  by  him  in  its 
living  water;  and  consecration  was  refused  to  those  alone  whose 
souls,  crimsoned  by  horrid  crimes,  could  be  w^hitened  only  in  the  lake 
of  anguish  in  the  underworld. 

COMMENTARY 

This  opening  scene  represents  the  first  rite  in  the  Lesser  Mys- 
teries :  the  officiating  priest,  or  initiator,  who  was  called  the 
Hydranos  ("bather"  or  "sprinkler"),  publicly  administered  to  can- 
didates this  ceremony,  by  bathing  them  in  the  waters  of  a  running 
stream,  as  the  river  Ilissos ;  he  exhorted  them  to  lead  lives  of  the 


34 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


strictest  morality,  and  instructed  them  in  matters  [jcrtaining  to  the 
psychic  stag'es  of  their  development.  The  higher,  spiritual  truths 
were  imparted  only  in  the  solemn  seclusion  of  the  tclcstcrion,  or 
temple  of   initiation;  but  no  candidate  could  be  admitted  to  the 

Greater  Mysteries  within  less  than  a 
year  from  his  initiation  into  the  Les- 
ser. Men  who  were  guilty  of  man- 
slaughter or  other  serious  crimes 
could  never  participate  in  the  purifi- 
catory rite.  In  the  Gospels  the  w'ord 
hydranos  is  replaced  by  baptistcs  or 
lio  bapticilii,  ''the  one  who  dips"; 
and  the  scene  is  transferred  to  the 
shore  of  the  Jordan,  although  the  rite 
was  one  not  practised  by  the  Jews. 
The  Hydranos  is  given  the  per- 
sonal name  loannes  (reminiscent  of 
the  Euphratean  Cannes,  the  Water- 
God),  and  he  is  made  to  live  in 
the  desert  in  imitation  of  Banos,  the 
Essene  under  wdiom  Josephus  (Life, 
p.  2)  studied  in  his  youth;  the  hairy 
mantle  of  loannes  is  taken  from 
ZecJiariah  xiii.  4,  and  his  leathern 
belt  from  II  Kings  i.  8.  Needless  to 
say,  the  Greek  hierophant  did  not 
live  in  a  desert  or  wear  so  uncouth 
a  garb. 

It  is  not  the  actual  ceremony  in 
the  Lesser  Mysteries  that  is  de- 
scribed in  the  text,  but  a  spectacular 
representation  of  it  in  the  I\Iystery-drama,  which  is  allegorical 
throughout.  Here  the  fact  that  the  ceremonial  bathing  took  place  in 
the  open  air,  beside  flowing  water  and  in  the  sunshine,  is  in  itself 
pregnant  with  meaning:  the  primary  w'ork  of  the  neophyte  is  self- 
purification,  clean  living  and  pure  thinking;  by  sincerity  of  soul  and 


Cannes 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  35 

childlike  naturalness  he  becomes  attuned  to  nature,  and  as  his  psy- 
chic faculties  unfold  he  becomes  conscious  of  the  subtile  forces 
which  are  behind  all  natural  phenomena.  The  development  of  his 
psychic  senses  opens  up  to  him  new  spheres  of  being-,  and  gives  to 
things  material  a  new  aspect.  Yet  this  is  psychic  only,  and  not 
spiritual;  it  is  but  the  "drawing  near"  of  the  divine  consciousness. 

loannes  is,  astronomicallv,  the  Midsummer  Sun,  which  on  entering: 
the  gate  of  descent  at  Cancer  presides  over  the  waning  days,  even  as 
lesous  is  the  Midwinter  Sun ;  but  by  a  reduplication  of  the  symbols, 
loannes  is  here  the  Moon-God,  and  lesous  the  Sun-God ;  and  again 
the  symbols  are  reduplicated  in  the  preceding  sign  Gemini,  in  which 
the  stars  Kastor  and  Polydeukes  represent  the  regents  of  night  and 
day.  As  the  Moon-God,  loannes  stands  for  the  psychic  self  in  man, 
and  the  living  water  of  his  lustral  rite  is  the  septenary  psychic  force 
or  element.  The  four  regions  bordered  by  the  river  are  the  four 
somatic  divisions;  and  the  four  grades,  or  castes,  of  men  are  the 
various  faculties  and  qualities  of  the  complex  individuality.  Below 
these  are  the  outcasts,  standing  for  the  purely  instinctual,  animal 
nature,  inherent  in  the  physical  body  and  in  a  large  measure  nec- 
essary to  its  existence,  and  from  which,  therefore,  the  soul  can  not 
be  entirely  freed  until  it  has  ceased  to  incarnate.  In  the  pseudo- 
Jewish  version  of  the  story  the  scenes  in  the  life  of  lesous  are  laid 
in  the  four  districts  or  regions  of  Palestine  (Judaea,  Samaria,  and 
Upper  and  Lower  Galilee)  and  its  capital  city,  Jerusalem;  and  these 
approximately  meet  the  requirements  of  the  allegory.  But  these 
requirements  would  be  met  more  closely  by  the  political  divisions  in 
the  Athenian  state,  which  under  Solon's  constitution  conformed  to 
the  zodiacal  pattern.  As  arranged  by  Solon,  Athens  had  four 
phylai,  tribes  or  classes,  each  consisting  of  three  phratrai,  clans, 
each  of  which  contained  thirty  gene,  patrician  houses;  these  sub- 
divisions correspond  to  the  four  cjuarters  of  the  zodiac,  each  of 
which  contains  three  signs,  each  sign  having  thirty  degrees,  or  three 
decans. 

There  are  sins  which  leave  so  indelible  a  stain  on  the  auric  sphere 
of  a  man  that  they  can  not  be  erased  in  the  same  incarnation :  it 
matters  not  how  pure  he  may  otherwise  make  himself,  he  must  wait 


36  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

till  he  has  again  passed  through  the  gates  of  death  and  birth  before 
he  can  begin  the  perfective  work  in  its  psychic  stages.  Hence  men 
thus  stained  were  not  allowed  to  participate  in  the  purificatory  rites. 

Many  of  the  Intellectual  Class,  Disdaining  to  Receive  the 
Lustral  Rite,  Are  Reprimanded 

[Matt.  iii.  7;  xii.  4-7;  vii.  16,  17,  19;  iii.  10,  8,  9] 

But  when  he  perceived  many  of  the  priests  and  the  materialists 
decrying  the  lustral  rite,  he  spoke  thus,  hurling  stern  words  at 
them : 

"O  brood  of  vipers !  Who  covertly  prompted  you  to  flee  from  the 
divine  frenzy  impending?  O  brood  of  vipers!  How  can  ye  who 
are  ignoble  speak  noble  truths  ?  For  it  is  from  the  heart's  overflow 
that  the  mouth  speaks :  the  good  man  from  the  rich  accumulation  of 
his  heart  dispenses  treasures,  and  the  depraved  man  from  his  worth- 
less accumulation  throws  out  refuse.  Are  figs  gathered  from 
acanthus-trees,  or  grapes  from  thistles?  Even  so  every  good  tree 
bears  desirable  fruit,  but  the  worthless  tree  produces  useless  fruit. 
Every  tree  which  does  not  bear  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast 
into  the  fire — and  already  the  axe  is  poised  before  the  root  of  the 
trees!  Bring  forth,  therefore,  the  excellent  fruit  of  reformation, 
and  refrain  from  saying  among  yourselves,  *We  are  lineal  descend- 
ants of  the  Sire  of  our  nation,'  for  I  say  to  you  that  from  these 
stones  the  All-Father  can  bring  to  life  a  people  worthy  of  that  Sire 
of  whom  you  are  the  offspring  fallen  and  debased." 

COMMENTARY 

By  the  energizing  of  the  psychic  forces,  symbolized  by  the  occult 
element  Water,  the  aspirant  passes  into  the  first  of  the  sacred 
trances,  a  state  of  mantic  exaltation.  It  is  not,  as  the  theologized 
version  would  have  it,  "the  wrath  of  God,"  but  is  a  divine  fury,  as 
contrasted  with  the  slow  and  placid  plodding  of  the  lower  intellect. 
The  inferior  mental  faculties  are  by  their  nature  opposed  to  the 
mantic  afflatus ;  they  are  represented  in  the  allegory  as  the  disdain- 
ful conventional  religionists  and  wooden  materialists,  who  proudly 
claim  descent  from  the  Sire,  or  Zeus  in  his  aspect  as  Cosmic  Intelli- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  37 

gence,  the  higher  world-soul.  Cold  intellectualism  is  due  to  the 
disproportionate  development  of  the  discursive  reason,  with  the  con- 
sequent decay  of  the  nobler  faculties  which  alone  can  give  accession 
of  true  knowledge  :  for  reason  has  in  itself  no  creative  or  originative 
power ;  its  function  is  to  formulate,  classify  and  arrange  the  material 
brought  to  the  mind  by  the  perceptive  faculties,  intuition,  imagina- 
tion and  the  divine  memories  stored  in  the  mystic  heart  of  man. 


'^/M^. " 


m 


-^vi,/„ 


l^nM^f;^ 


Deukalion  and  Pyrrha 


When  the  lower  reason  has  inhibited  the  action  of  these  finer  facul- 
ties of  the  soul,  and  has  usurped  the  entire  mental  field,  it  can  of 
itself  acquire  nothing  new,  but  adds  to  its  store  only  the  formulated 
thoughts  of  other  men,  and  finally  relapses  into  sterile  unfaith  in 
everything  psychic  or  spiritual. 

The  classification  of  mankind  into  four  grades,  in  analogy  with 
the  four  races,  white,  yellow,  red  and  black,  is  not  arbitrary  and  is 
not  based  on  distinctions  of  color  or  occupation.  Every  man,  what- 
ever may  be  the  outer  circumstances  of  his  life,  has  his  normal  con- 


38  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

sciotisness  correlated  to  one  or  another  of  the  four  ^reat  planes  of 
life.  The  system  of  hereditary  castes,  as  found  among  some  ancient 
peoples,  is  arbitrary  and  pernicious,  and  especially  so  when  those 
belonging  to  the  highest  caste  form  a  priesthood  and  claim  to  stand 
in  special  relation  to  the  Deity. 

In  the  text  the  metaphorical  reference  to  the  common  people  as 
"stones"  is  probably  reminiscent  of  a  word-play  on  laas,  "stone," 
and  laos,  "people."  According  to  Greek  mythology,  after  Zeus,  the 
Sire,  had  by  a  deluge  destroyed  all  the  human  race  except  Deukalion 
and  Pyrrha,  a  new  race  was  created  from  the  stones  which  the  sur- 
viving pair  cast  behind  them,  the  stones  being  miraculously  trans- 
formed into  human  beings. 

The  Working  Class  Arc  Instructed 
[Lk.  iii.  10.  II.    Matt,  xxiii.  2-7;  v.  20] 

And  the  working-people  a.sked  him : 

"What,  then,  shall  we  do?" 

He  answered  them  : 

"The  men  of  learning  and  the  orthodox  officially  occupy  the  chair 
of  the  Law-giver;  therefore  give  heed  to  and  practise  whatever 
precepts  they  may  lay  down  for  you.  But  do  not  shape  your  con- 
duct in  accordance  with  their  actions;  for  they  preach  but  do  not 
practise.  They  do  up  heavy  burdens,  and  pack  them  on  men's  shoul- 
ders;  but  they  themselves  will  not  lift  a  finger  to  lighten  those 
burdens.  All  their  actions  are  performed  for  spectacular  effect :  for 
they  flaunt  broad  amulets,  with  exaggerated  hems  on  their  mantles; 
and  dearly  do  they  love  the  first  place  at  dinners,  the  chief  seats  in 
the  assemblies,  the  salutations  in  the  market-places,  and  to  be 
greeted  by  men  as  'Teacher.'  I  tell  you  that  unless  your  morality 
shall  be  more  exuberant  than  that  of  the  learned  men  and  the  ortho- 
dox, into  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  you  shall  not  enter." 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  dikaiosiinc,  here  rendered  "morality,"  designates  the 
character  of  one  who  is  just  and  upright  in  all  his  dealings ;  although 
it  covers  a  wide  range  of  virtues,  it  applies  more  to  conduct  than  to 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  39 

the  inner  life,  to  the  performance  of  all  duties  with  a  pure  motive, 
and  yet  not  to  the  absolute  rectitude  understood  by  theology.  It 
may  be  regarded  as  summing  up  the  virtues  possible  for  a  man  to 
obtain  while  engaged  in  the  active  work  of  the  world,  but  falling 
short  of  the  holiness  (hosiofcs)  which  pertains  to  the  contemplative 
life.  Greek  philosophy,  as  expounded  by  Porphyrios,  recognized 
four  classes  of  virtues,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  three  classes 
which  culminated  in  wisdom  :  of  these,  self-control  applied  especially 
to  the  lowest  grade  of  men.  manliness  to  the  military  grade,  upright- 
ness to  the  commercial  grade,  and  wisdom  to  the  highest  grade; 
while  holiness  was  the  attribute  of  truly  spiritual  men,  who  con- 
stitute the  fifth  or  super-caste. 

The  Commercial  Class  Are  Instructed 
[Lk.  iii.  12,  13.     Matt.  vi.  19,  20.    Lk.  .xii.  33,  34.    Matt.  v.  42] 

There  came  also  merchants  to  be  lustrated,  and  they  said  to  him : 

'"Teacher,  what  are  we  to  do?" 

To  them  he  said  : 

''Store  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  on  this  earth,  where  moths 
destroy  and  rust  corrodes,  and  thieves  break  in  and  steal ;  but  create 
for  yourselves  in  the  world  supernal  a  lasting  treasure  which  no 
thief  can  touch,  no  moth  destroy.  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there 
also  will  be  your  heart.  Give  to  him  who  asks  of  you ;  and  from 
him  who  would  borrow,  turn  not  away." 

COMMENTARY 

These  instructions  of  the  Hydranos  are  given  to  candidates  for 
initiation  into  the  sacred  Mysteries:  therefore  some  of  the  rules  of 
morality  are  more  strict  than  they  would  be  if  intended  for  men  of 
the  world,  the  "profane" ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  principles  of 
morality  which  have  a  general  application,  and  therefore  do  not 
apply  to  the  candidates  in  a  special  way.  are  not  discoursed  upon. 
Thus,  an  exhortation  to  honesty,  or  a  denunciation  of  dishonorable 
methods  of  acquiring  wealth,  would  be  inappropriate  here.  The 
aspirants  to  the  higher  life  are  told  not  to  set  the  heart  on  anything 


40  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

transitory,  impermanent,  but  to  rely  on  that  which  is  eternal  and 
divine.  The  meaning,  though  apparently  simple,  can  not  be  under- 
stood by  those  who  conceive  of  heaven  as  a  place  where  the  resur- 
rected dead  disport  happily  in  the  presence  of  a  personal  God. 
Minds  so  immature  can  grasp  only  the  crude  doctrines  of  exoteric 
religion. 

The  Military  Class  Are  Instructed 

[Lk.  iii.  14.     Matt.  xi.  12.    Lk.  iii.  14] 

Those  doing  duty  as  soldiers  also  asked  him : 

"And  what  are  we  to  do — even  we?" 

Said  he  to  them : 

"The  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  carried  by  storm,  and  the  force- 
ful obtain  mastery  over  it.  But  extort  from  no  man  by  violence, 
neither  use  the  tricks  of  a  spy ;  but  be  content  with  a  soldier's  wage." 

COMMENTARY 

Courage  is  one  of  the  essential  virtues  of  the  aspirant,  who  must 

with  dauntless  energy  force  his  way  through  the  dark  and  hostile 

psychic  planes  of  life  which  have  to  be  traversed  before  the  divine 

realm  is  reached;  and  the  realm  itself  belongs 

only  to  him  who  can  become  its  conqueror.    But 

the  occult  teachings  are   imparted  to  him,   by 

those  who  knov/,  only  as  he  may  merit  them ; 

he  will  receive  no  more  than  his  rightful  wage, 

and  he  can  gain  nothing  by  compulsion  or  arti- 

.  .  _  lice.     The  neophyte  is  verv  apt  to  overestimate 

Athena  ,  .  .  ^  ^     ,  .         '.      ^ , 

his  own  merits,  and  imagine  therefore  that  he 

is  entitled  to  more  than  he  is  receiving;  also  the  craving  for  know- 
ledge may  cause  him  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  wisdom  comes, 
not  from  listening  to  the  words  of  others,  but  from  the  unfolding 
of  the  inner  faculties. 

Athena,  who  was  fabled  to  have  sprung  from  the  head  of  Zeus, 
was  the  Goddess  of  War  as  well  as  of  Wisdom;  for  whoever  has 
wisdom  wields  power. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  41 

The  Moral  Code  for  All  Candidates  Is  Proclaimed 
[Lk.  iii.  18.    IMatt.  v.  6,  3-5,  7-9] 

With  many  otlier  admonitions  he  continued  to  address  the  pos- 
tulants : 

"Immortal  are  they  who  thirst  for  holy  \\'isdom :  for  they  shall 
drink  at  its  primeval  fountain. 

"Immortal  are  the  supplicants  in  the  supernal  Air :  for  theirs  is 
the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces. 

"Immortal  are  the  mourners  for  the  Sun-God  crucified :  for  in 
them  his  deathless  Flame  shall  rise  anew. 

"Immortal  are  the  self-effaced  :  for  they  shall  he  heirs  to  the  most 
sacred  Earth. 

"Immortal  are  the  compassionate :  for  they  shall  receive  Com- 
passion Absolute. 

"Immortal  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they  shall  see  the  Self  Di- 
vine. 

"Immortal  are  they  who  reach  the  sacred  peace:  for  'Sons  of 
God'  shall  they  be  called. 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  makarios,  as  here  used,  conveys  the  conception  of  bliss 
eternal  and  supernal,  and  is  descriptive  of  beings  who  are  deathless 
and  divine ;  only  when  applied  collocjuially  to  ordinary  mortals  can 
it  be  correctly  rendered  "blessed"  or  "fortunate."  Of  the  nine  so- 
called  beatitudes,  the  last  two  are  unquestionably  spurious ;  and  the 
others  have  been  degraded  to  the  level  of  mere  commonplaces  by 
the  priests  who  revised  and  rewrote  the  text  to  suit  their  own 
theological  notions.  Yet  even  in  their  mutilated  form  the  first  four 
refer  unmistakably  to  the  four  elements:  Air  {pneuma),  Fire  (the 
fire  of  the  Paraklete  being  retained  in  the  expression,  "they  shall  be 
parakleted,"  which  does  not  mean  "comforted").  Earth,  and  Water 
(retained  only  in  the  word  "thirst").  Placing  this  fourth  beatitude 
at  the  beginning,  the  four  elements  are  then  in  correct  sequence. 
Now,  to  "hunger  and  thirst  after  uprightness,"  and  to  "be  filled" 
(literally  "stall-fattened")  with  it,  is  not  a  natural  combination  of 


42  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

ideas :  right-conduct  depends  upon  a  man's  own  efforts,  not  upon  his 
acquiring  anything  extrinsic.  To  express  the  notion  that  a  man  was 
desirous  of  doing  his  duty,  one  would  not  naturally  say  that  he 
hungered  and  thirsted  for  it.  Obviously  the  beatitude  has  been 
overworked,  "uprightness"  being  substituted  for  "wisdom,"  and  an 
attempt  being  then  made  to  give  the  sentence  a  plausible  sound  by 
supplementing  thirst  with  hunger.  The  forgers,  being  opponents  of 
Gnosticism,  had  a  fanatical  prejudice  against  "wisdom,"  and  in 
many  places  in  the  text  they  have  expunged  the  word,  sometimes 
writing  in  a  substitute,  as  "faith"  or  "righteousness,"  and  sometimes 
leaving  a  lacuna.  In  symbolism  the  moon  is  associated  with  water 
and  also  with  w' isdom ;  and  very  probably  the  original  beatitude  may 
have  contained  an  allusion  to  the  Moon-God ;  while  the  beatitude  in 
which  the  notion  of  mourning  is  connected  with  that  of  the  Para- 
klete,  the  solar  fire,  referred  to  the  Sun-God,  whose  allegorical 
"death"  w^as  mourned  in  the  mystery-ceremonials. 

As  reconstructed,  the  first  four  beatitudes  refer  to  the  four  occult 
elements,  representing  the  fourfold  manifested  powers  in  the  four 
worlds ;  and  the  last  three,  a  splendid  triad,  to  divine  love,  purity 
and  peace :  or,  more  fully,  to  the  all-embracing  love  of  the  Logos 
(Eros),  the  Son;  the  stainless  purity  of  the  World-Soul,  the 
Mighty  Mother;  and  the  perfect  peace  of  the  Supreme  Father. 

The  Moral  Code,  Continued 
[Matt.  V.  17,  19,  21,  27,  28,  38.  39,  43,  44.    Lk.  vi.  31] 

"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  annul  the  moral  law  and  the  rules 
of  morality  laid  down  by  the  seers.  I  have  not  come  to  annul,  but 
to  add  to  and  make  more  complete.  Whoever,  therefore,  shall  sub- 
vert one  of  these  minor  commandments,  and  teach  men  so,  shall  be 
called  a  'minor'  in  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces ;  but  whoever  shall 
practise  and  teach  them  shall  be  called  an  'adult'  in  the  realm  of  the 
starry  spaces. 

"You  have  heard  that  't  was  said  to  the  people  of  old,  'Thou  shalt 
not  commit  murder,  and  whoever  commits  murder  shall  be  subject 
to  judgment.'  But  to  you  I  say.  Every  one  who  becomes  angry  with 
his  brother-man  shall  be  subject  to  judgment. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  43 

"You  have  heard  that  't  was  said,  'Thou  shalt  not  commit  adul- 
tery.' But  to  you  I  say,  Every  man  who  casts  lustful  eyes  on  a 
woman  has  already  in  his  heart  committed  adultery  with  her. 

"You  have  heard  that  't  was  said,  '/\n  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth 
for  a  tooth.'  But  to  you  I  say.  Do  not  return  evil  for  evil,  but  if 
any  one  deals  you  a  blow  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other 
also. 

"You  have  heard  that  "t  was  said,  'Thy  neighbor  thou  shalt  love, 
but  thine  enemy  thou  shalt  hate.'  But  to  you  I  say,  Love  even  your 
enemies,  and  do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  they  should  do  unto 
you." 

COMMENTARY 

The  commandments  quoted  in  this  discourse  are  taken,  of  course, 
from  the  Jewish  code;  but,  as  similar  laws  were  in  force  in  every 
civilized  nation,  the  fact  has  no  special  significance.  From  what- 
ever code  the  laws  may  have  been  quoted  originally,  the  forgers 
were  bound,  under  their  general  policy,  to  give  them  a  Jewish  color. 

The  doctrine  of  non-resistance  to  enemies  is  not  of  general  appli- 
cation, but  is  laid  down  for  neophytes  in  the  sacred  science.  Much 
of  the  ethical  teaching  ascribed  to  lesous  is  intended  for  those  only 
who  have  renounced  the  world  to  devote  themselves  to  the  spiritual, 
contemplative  life.  The  futile  attempt  made  by  an  exoteric  church, 
based  upon  falsified  and  misunderstood  scriptures  stolen  from  the 
ancient  Mysteries,  to  enforce  upon  the  masses  of  mankind  certain 
rules  of  morality  designed  primarily  for  ascetic  philosophers  leads 
rather  to  hypocrisy  than  to  sound  morality. 

The  Lesser  Hierophant  Foretells  the  Coming  of  the  Greater 
[Lk.  iii.  15-17.    Compare  IMatt.  iii.  11,  12] 

Now,  as  all  the  people  were  pondering  in  their  hearts  concerning 
loannes,  whether  or  not  he  might  be  the  Enlightener  whose  coming 
they  awaited,  loannes  answered  their  unspoken  thought,  and  said  to 
them  all : 

"I  indeed  lustrate  you  with  Water;  but  the  Fan-bearer  is  coming, 
mightier  than  I,  whose  sandal-thong  I  am  not  competent  to  unlace : 


44 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


he  shall  histrate  you  with  Air  supernal  and  with  Fire.  In  his  hand 
is  his  mystic  winnowing-fan,  for  the  thorough  cleansing  of  his 
discous  threshing-floor;  into  his  granary  he  will  gather  the  wheat, 
but  with  inextinguishable  fire  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff." 

COMMENTARY 

lesous  is  here  unmistak- 
ably identified  with  the  solar 
Dionysos,  the  Mystery-God, 
who  was  called  "the  Win- 
nower." The  mystic  fan, 
the  likmos  or  liknon  {mys- 
tica  vannits  lacchi,  as  Vergil 
calls  it),  was  a  wicker-work 
contrivance  which  answered 
equally  w^ell  the  purposes  of 
a  winnowing-fan,  a  basket 
and  a  baby's  cradle.  It  was 
used  in  the  sacred  field  to 
separate  the  grain  from  the 
chaff;  in  it  were  carried  the 
first-fruits  and  the  mystic 
utensils  when  it  w'as  borne 
on  the  head  of  the  officiating 
priest  (who  personified  the 
God)  during  the  procession 
at  the  Mystery- festival ;  sometimes  it  was  worn  as  a  crown ;  and 
in  it  was  cradled  the  infant  Dionysos,  6  Xikvitt;?-  In  the  text  of 
the  Gospels  the  w^ord  Xlkvov  is  carefully  avoided,  because  thus  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  "pagan"  Mysteries,  and  the  less  signifi- 
cant synonym  tttvov  is  substituted  for  it.  The  word  halon,  or  halos 
(whence  the  English  word  "halo"),  signifies  "a  round  threshing- 
floor"  ;  but  here  it  is  used,  apparently,  not  for  the  floor  itself,  but 
metonymically  for  the  round  pile  of  heaped-up  grain  which  is  ready 
to  be  winnowed.  The  word  was  also  applied  to  various  circular 
objects,  as  the  disk  of  the  sun  or  moon,  the  halo  surrounding  either 


Dionysos 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  45 

of  these  luminaries,  and  even  a  coiled  serpent ;  it  is  equivalent  to  the 
Sanskrit  chakra.  The  Sun-God  of  the  allegory  is  the  spiritual  Self, 
the  sublime  teacher  whom  the  people  (the  lower  principles  and 
faculties  of  the  neophyte)  are  said  to  be  expecting;  they  are  repre- 
sented as  questioning  whether  or  not  Joannes  (the  Moon-God, 
standing  for  the  psychic  self)  may  himself  be  the  expected  Illumi- 
nator. Many,  indeed,  are  they  who  have,  upon  attaining  the  psychic 
consciousness,  mistaken  its  reflected  light  for  the  direct  radiance  of 
the  Nous,  the  spiritual  sun. 

2.    The  Fifth  Grade,  or  Supernal  Man— the  Nous 

The  Neophyte  lesoiis  Impersonates  the  Sun-God,  the  Fan-Bearer 
[Mk.  i.  9.    Lk.  iii.  21.    Matt.  xi.  7-9,  11] 

Now,  lesous  had  come  from  the  upper  country,  after  all  had  re- 
ceived the  lustral  rite ;  and  as  the  candidates  were  departing  he  said 
to  them : 

"What  did  you  go  to  the  sacred  plain  to  see — a  reed  swaying  in 
the  wind?  But  what  did  you  go  out  to  behold — a  man  elegantly 
dressed?  Lo,  the  wearers  of  elegant  clothing  live  in  palatial  dwell- 
ings! What,  then,  did  you  go  out  to  behold  — a  seer?  So  be  it:  for 
I  say  to  you.  Than  loannes,  hierophant  of  the  lustral  rite,  no  greater 
man  has  arisen  among  them  who  are  of  women  born,  but  a  babe 
new-born  in  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  a  greater  Man  than 
he !" 

COMMENTARY 

The  psychic  principle  is  the  highest  part  of  the  generable  nature, 
which  is  "born  of  woman."  The  play  on  the  words  megas,  "great," 
in  the  sense  of  "grown-up,"  and  mikros,  "little,"  as  "young,"  oc- 
curs elsewhere  in  the  text,  as  in  Luke  ix.  48.  Here  "the  very  little 
one"  {ho  mikrotcros),  or  new-born  babe,  is  the  initiate  who,  hav- 
ing passed  through  the  mystic  second  birth,  is  greater  than  the  men 
who  are  only  carnally  born. 

The  extraordinary  dislocation  of  this  passage,  in  Matthew  and 
Luke,  was  probably  made  by  the  forgers  who  inserted  the  fictitious 
story  of  the  imprisonment  and  decapitation  of  loannes. 


46  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

lesous,  While  Impersonating  the  Greater  Hierophant,  Receives 
the  Rite  of  the  Lesser 

[Matt.  iii.  13-15.    Lk.  xii.  49,  50.     Matt.  iii.  15] 

Came  lesons  then  to  loannes  at  the  sacred  river,  his  htstral  rite 
to  receive.    But  loannes,  trying  to  dissuade  him,  protested  : 

"Need  have  I  to  receive  thy  lustral  rite,  and  comest  thou  to  me?" 

But  lesous  answered  him  : 

"I  have  come  to  sow  Fire  in  the  Earth,  and  why  should  I  desire 
thy  rite  of  Water  if  that  Fire  were  already  kindled?  But  I  have 
yet  thy  lustral  rite  to  undergo,  and  O  how  I  am  constrained  until 
it  is  accomplished !  Consecrate  me  now  first,  for  thus  't  is  fitting 
for  us  to  comply  with  all  the  holy  ritual." 

Then  the  lesser  hierophant  consecrated  him,  plunging  him  thrice 
into  the  purifying  stream. 

COMMENTARY 

By  assuming  the  character  of  the  Sun-God,  lesous  only  asserts 
his  innate  divinity.  He  is  but  an  aspirant  presenting  himself  at  the 
first  of  the  perfecting  rites:  not  yet  has  he  kindled  the  sacred  fire, 
nor  sown  it  in  the  earth;  his  harvest  of  grain  he  has  not  wunnowed 
with  air,  nor  has  he  bathed  in  the  waters  of  the  sacred  stream.  The 
humility  of  the  Hydranos  before  the  applicant  is  a  dramatic  recog- 
nition of  the  latter 's  divine  nature,  even  though  it  is  as  yet  unmani- 
fested. 

The  "saying"  about  sowing  Fire  in  the  Earth  is  absurdly  dislo- 
cated in  the  so-called  periscope  of  Luke. 

The  Neophyte  Is  Consecrated,  and  Is  Declared  Worthy 
[Matt.  iii.  15-17.     Mk.  i.  11] 

And  lesous,  when  he  had  undergone  this  first  of  the  lustrations, 
rose  up  immediately  from  the  water,  and  behold,  the  vaulted  sky 
was  riven,  and  he  saw  the  supernal  Air  like  a  dove  descending  upon 
him ;  and  a  voice  from  the  effulgent  throne  proclaimed : 

"Thou  art  my  Son,  worthy  to  become  the  Anointed  King  of  the 
starry  realm." 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  47 

COMMENTARY 

The  dove,  with  the  "pagans"  sacred  to  Aphrodite,  is  in  Chris- 
tianity the  emblem  of  love  and  compassion ;  and  as  the  conventional 
symbol  of  the  holy  pneuma  it  is  usually  represented  with  an  aure- 
ola of  seven  rays.  The  opening  of  the  lower  sky,  or  firmament 
(ouranos) ,  to  permit  of  the  descent  of  the  supercelestial  Air,  reveals 
the  same  uranology  that  is  found  in  Plato's  exquisite  allegory  in 
the  Phaidros  (p.  247),  where  he  tells  of  the  immortal  souls  ascend- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  heavenly  dome  and  beholding  the  region  which 
is  beyond  the  heavens,  the  place  of  true  knowledge. 

Initiated  into  the  first  degree  by  the  rite  of  Water,  lesous  be- 
comes a  Chrcstos,  "noble  one,"  or  approved  disciple  in  the  Mys- 
teries; it  is  not  until  he  has  passed  through  all  the  tests  and  occult 
"labors,"  and  has  entered  into  the  fourth  degree  through  the  rite 
of  Earth — the  mystic  crucifixion — that  he  becomes  a  Christos,  an 
Anointed  King,  a  full  Initiate.  In  the  mutilated  text  the  words 
from  his  heavenly  Father  are  given  as,  "Thou  art  my  beloved  Son, 
of  whom  I  have  approved,"  the  latter  clause  being  in  dubious  Greek; 
but  to  bring  out  more  clearly  the  nature  of  that  approval,  the  word- 
ing has  been  changed,  as  above,  to  a  promise  of  his  attaining  the 
divine  kingship. 

3.     The  Triumph  over  the  Tempter  and  the  Wild-beasts — the 
Conquest  of  the  Psycho-passional  Nature 

lesous  Overcomes  the  Temptations  to  Which  He  Is  Subjected 

[Lk.  iii.  2^.    Mk.  i.  12,  13.    Lk.  iv.  13] 

Now,  lesous'  self  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  began 
his  initiation.  And  into  the  desert  the  Air  supernal  drove  him 
forthwith;  there,  in  the  murky  depths  of  a  cavern,  the  den  of  beasts 
that  prowl,  he  dwelt  for  forty-two  days,  fasting  the  while ;  and  ever 
the  Netherworld  God,  the  primeval  Serpent,  and  the  wild-beasts, 
put  to  the  test  his  fortitude  and  faith.  But  when  the  Tempter  had 
subjected  him  to  every  ordeal,  he  departed  from  him  until  the  next 
of  the  four  mystic  seasons,  and  the  approving  Gods  served  up  for 
him  a  royal  banquet. 


48  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  Mithraika,  which  were  copied  from  the  older  initiatory 
systems,  the  neophyte,  after  he  had  received  the  rite  of  lustration 
by  water,  and  before  he  was  admitted  to  participate  in  the  higher 
Mysteries,  was  subjected  to  twelve  consecutive  trials  or  probations, 
called  "tortures,"  designed  to  test  his  courage  and  endurance.  These 
trials  were  undergone  within  a  telestic  cave,  suitably  furnished  for 
such  initiation-ceremonies,  and  the  evil  powers  were  symbolized  as 
wild-beasts,  which  were  impersonated  by  the  officiating  priests. 
When  he  had  successfully  passed  through  these  trials  the  neophyte 
w^as  enthroned  as  a  king,  and  a  banquet  was  given  in  his  honor. 
The  twelve  trials  thus  dramatically  represented  as  many  stages  of 
self-conquest  and  purification,  leading  to  sovereignty  over  self  and 
the  attainment  of  wisdom.  As  said  in  a  Sanskrit  poem  in  w^hich 
the  trials  of  a  disciple  are  described  allegorically : 

"The  enemies  which  rise  within  the  body. 
Hard  to  be  overcome — the  evil  passions — 
Should  manfully  be  fought;  who  conquers  these 
Is  equal  to  the  conqueror  of  worlds." 

The  archaic  Serpent  (the  "Satan"  of  the  Hebraized  text)  is  the 
Kakodaimon,  Evil  Genius,  the  passional  (epithumetic)  psychic 
principle  which  each  man  harbors  in  his  own  nature.  Satan,  as  a 
malignant  Deity,  an  omnipresent  fiend  of  cosmic  proportions,  is  but 
a  creation  of  theological  fancy. 

The  age  of  lesous  is  given  in  Luke  as  "about  thirty  years."  As 
twenty-eight,  or  four  sevens,  it  would  refer  mystically  to  the  lower 
quaternary,  or  objective  man.  The  "forty  days"  in  the  desert  should 
also  be  a  multiple  of  seven,  as  related  to  the  septenates  of  forces. 
Six  of  the  septenates  (giving  the  number  forty-two)  are  thus  rep- 
resented as  being  liable  to  temptation,  while  the  seventh  is  inhe- 
rently divine,  and  therefore  sinless. 

The  bad  dainion  is  not  finally  vanquished :  he  departs  "until  the 
season,"  that  is,  until  the  next  stage  in  the  initiation,  the  four  de- 
grees being  likened  to  the  four  seasons  of  the  year.    For  the  temp- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  49 

tations,  in  subtler  forms,  recur  on  each  of  the  four  planes  of  mani- 
festation, which  are  represented  in  zodiacal  language  by  the  four 
seasons.  The  disciple  must  conquer  the  evil  powers  at  each  of  the 
first  four  stages  of  his  upward  progress.  The  three  "temptations" 
of  lesous  foisted  in  the  text  of  Matthezu  and  Luke  are  too  childish 
in  conception  to  deserve  serious  consideration. 

4.    The  Four  Companions — the  Manifested  Powers  of  the  Nous 

Four  Brothers  of  lesous  Become  His  Disciples 
[Mk.  i.  14-20;  iii.  17] 

Now,  after  he  had  been  handed  over  to  these  ordeals  by  loannes, 
lesous  came  into  the  upper  country,  proclaiming  the  divine  Gnosis, 
and  saying: 

"The  season  is  ended,  and  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  has 
drawn  near.  Cleanse  ye  both  mind  and  heart,  and  in  the  Gnosis  put 
your  trust." 

And  walking  along  the  shore  of  the  sea,  he  saw  two  of  his  broth- 
ers, Andreas  and  Simdn,  spreading  a  dragnet  in  the  sea;  for  they 
were  fishermen.    Said  lesous  to  them : 

"Hither!  Follow  my  lead,  and  I  shall  make  of  you  fishers  of 
men." 

They  at  once  left  their  net  and  went  along  after  him.  Going  on 
a  little  further,  he  saw  his  brothers  loannes  and  lakobos,  the  "twin 
Sons  of  Thunder,"  who  were  in  the  ship.  Them  he  summoned,  and 
they  left  their  father  in  the  ship,  and  followed  lesous. 

COMMENTARY 

Having  fulfilled  his  duties  as  the  Hydranos,  there  is  no  further 
need  of  loannes  in  that  capacity,  and  he  drops  out  of  the  story.  So 
far  as  the  allegory  is  concerned,  there  is  nothing  mysterious  about 
his  disappearance;  but  to  account  for  it  "historically"  a  relation  of 
his  imprisonment  and  death  has  been  worked  into  the  text  by  some 
forger  who  had  a  hand  in  the  work  of  falsifying  the  allegory.  The 
same  fable  was  also  foisted  in  the  text  of  Josephus  (Antiquities^ 


50  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

xviii.  V.  2),  with  two  other  forgeries  in  which  the  orthodox  Jewisli 
historian  is  made  to  record  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  of 
lesous,  "the  Christos,"  and  the  stoning  to  death  of  lakobos,  "the 
brother  of  lesous  w'ho  was  called  the  Christos."  That  these  pas- 
sages are  forgeries  is  apparent  from  the  unskilful  way  in  which 
they  have  been  wedged  into  the  text,  aside  from  the  improbability 
that  an  orthodox  Jew  would  have  written  them. 

In  each  of  the  four  degrees,  or  mystic  seasons,  the  entire  zodiac 
is  traversed,  making  four  minor  stages ;  while  the  northern  and  the 
southern  course  of  the  sun  constitute  the  two  six-month  seasons  of 
the  year.  loannes,  the  Lunar  Lord,  represents  also  the  sun,  and  his 
"season"  extends  from  the  summer  solstice  to  the  winter  solstice, 
from  Cancer  to  Capricornus :  by  the  lustration  in  the  sacred  stream 
lesous  progressed  through  the  signs  Cancer,  Leo  and  Virgo,  the 
Region  of  the  River-God  (along  which  lies  Hydra,  the  Water- 
Serpent,  the  southern  paranatellon  of  Leo)  ;  by  the  ordeal  of  "temp- 
tations" he  progressed  through  the  signs  Libra,  Scorpio  and  Sagit- 
tarius, the  Region  of  the  Earth-God,  where  are  found  the  Dragon 
(the  "archaic  Serpent")  and  the  Wild-beast,  Thcrion  (Lupus),  two 
paranatellons  of  Scorpio;  and  so  "the  season  [of  shortening  days] 
has  come  to  its  close,"  and  the  season  of  lengthening  days  begins. 
Here  lesous,  as  Lord  of  the  new  season,  begins  his  "ministry."  He 
assumes  the  mystic  "Yoke"  which  lies  across  the  ecliptic  (the  stars 
^,  crandTT  Aquarii,  anciently  called  "the  Yoke  of  the  Sea"  and  "the 
Proclamation  of  the  Sea"),  and  making  his  proclamation,  he 
passes  along  the  shore  (Capricornus)  of  the  celestial  Sea  and 
finds  the  tw^o  "fishermen,"  Andreas  (Aquarius)  and  Simon  (Pis- 
ces), in  the  Region  of  the  Sea-God;  "going  on  a  little  further" 
(that  is,  through  Aries),  he  finds  loannes  (Taurus)  and  lakobos 
(Gemini)  "in  the  Ship"  (Argo  Navis),  in  the  Region  of  the 
Sky-God.  Thus  he  makes  a  complete  circuit  of  the  zodiac,  re- 
turning to  the  starting-point,  Cancer,  of  which  the  Ship  is  the 
southern  paranatellon.  The  word  TrXoto^'  (from  TrXetv,  "to  sail") 
is  correctly  rendered  "ship"  in  the  authorized  version ;  and  the 
revisers  must  have  had  "history,"  not  Greek,  in  mind  when  they 
made  the   change  to   "boat."     If  they  intended   an   emendation, 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


51 


Air 


Earth 
The  Sun-God  and  His  Twelve  Companions 


"ark"  would  have  been  better,  for  the  constellation  'Apyco  was 
sometimes  called  kl^ojt6<;,  and  regarded  as  "Noah's  Ark."  It  rep- 
resented the  psychic  body  {siikshiiia  sJiarlra)  :  for  Xoah  it  preserved 
the  seed  of  all  living  beings ;  and  for  lesoiis  and  his  twelve  com- 
panions, as  also  for  lason  and  his  twelve  companions,  the  vShip  Argo 
was  the  appropriate  craft  for  their  celestial  voyaging.  In  this  alle- 
gory of  the  lustral  rite,  or  self-purification,  the  signs  are  given  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  traversed  by  the  sun  on  his  annual  cir- 
cuit ;  but  when  they  are  taken  as  symbolizing  the  forces  and  force- 
centres  in  man,  the  microcosm,  the  order  is  reversed,  because  the 
forces  begin  to  energize  at  the  lower  centres. 


52  1ME  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  four  Companions  of  lesotis,  the  Nous,  are  his  manifested 
noetic  powers :  the  two  who  spread  the  dragnet  are  the  perceptive 
and  retentive  faculties,  or  apprehension  and  memory;  and  the  two 
in  the  celestial  Ship  are  the  contemplative  and  devotional  faculties, 
or  abstract  thought  and  divine  love.  The  four  powers  of  the  Xous 
have  also  other  correspondences,  when  regarded  as  regents  of  the 
somatic  divisions,  the  prdnas,  etc.  loannes  and  lakobos,  as  person- 
ified electro-vital  forces,  are  idd  and  pingala,  and  in  this  aspect  they 
are  the  twin  Sons  of  Thunder :  they  are  also  called,  in  the  Gos- 
pel "history,"  "the  sons  of  Zebedee" ;  Zebedee,  however,  is  but  a 
poor  Hebraic  substitute  for  Zeus  the  Thunderer,  ySpoi^rato?,  who 
is  represented  among  the  constellations  by  Cepheus,  who  may  there- 
fore be  said  to  be  in  the  Ship  with  them.  Kepheus  ( from  the  Chal- 
daic  Keph)  is  identical  with  Baal  T.sephon,  "Lord  of  the  North," 
God  of  the  Storm  and  of  the  Thunderbolt.  These  two  disciples  of 
lesous  are  identical  with  the  Dioskouroi  ("Sons  of  Zeus"),  Kastor 
and  Polydeukes,  who  were  among  the  twelve  companions  of  lason 
when  he  sailed  in  the  Argo. 

In  Matthciv  xiii.  55  and  Mark  vi.  3  the  brothers  of  lesous  are 
named  as  lakobos,  loses  (or  Joseph),  Simon  and  loudas,  and  his 
"sisters"  are  mentioned.  This  is  a  list  of  the  noetic  disciples,  loan- 
nes being  thinly  disguised  as  "loses,"  and  Andreas  being  omitted. 
The  seven  psychic  principles,  which  are  "lunar"  and  may  therefore 
be  regarded  as  feminine,  are  the  "sisters"  of  the  Nous.  This  is 
not  strictly  orthodox,  however,  as  six  of  the  zodiacal  signs  are  diur- 
nal and  six  are  nocturnal,  while  the  Olympic  Immortals  presiding 
over  the  signs  are  six  Gods  and  six  Goddesses ;  but  inasmuch  as 
Hermes,  the  Guardian-God  of  the  sign  Cancer,  is  considered  an- 
drogynous, that  is,  both  male  and  female,  the  Sun  may  be  said  to 
have  five  brothers  and  seven  sisters  in  the  family  circle  of  the  zodiac. 

lesous  Heals  Simon's  Wife's  Mother— Subdues  the 
Psycho-Mental  Ebullition 

[Mk.  i.  29-31] 

And  these  four,  Simon  and  Andreas,  and  lakobos  and  loannes, 
came  with  lesous  to  Simon's  house.     Now,  Simon's  wife's  mother 


54  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

was  prostrated  with  a  fever;  and  they  spoke  to  lesous  about  her. 
He  came  and  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  raised  her  up.  Immediately 
tlie  fever  left  her,  and  she  waited  on  them  at  dinner. 

COMMENTARY 

One  of  the  many  "historical"  fictions  which  have  been  foisted  in 
the  text  is  the  surnaming  of  Simon  as  Petros  ("Peter").  In  Ga!a- 
tians  (ii.  11-14)  Paulos  tells  of  a  certain  Kephas,  whom  he  de- 
nounced as  a  hypocrite  and  evidently  looked  upon  as  a  charlatan. 
The  word  kephas  is  Chaldaic  for  "rock,"  and  the  name  of  this 
pseudo-teacher  is  frequently  given  in  the  Epistles  in  Greek  form  as 
Petros,  "rock,"  or  more  properly,  "stone."  Whether  or  not  this 
charlatan  was  the  "rock"  upon  which  the  primitive  Christian  church 
was  founded,  he  was  such  by  tradition ;  and  so,  to  give  him  pres- 
tige as  one  of  the  twelve  disciples,  his  name  has  been  tacked  onto 
that  of  Simon.  Certainly,  from  a  humorous  point  of  view',  a  hap- 
pier identification  could  not  have  been  made.  Simon,  as  Regent  of 
the  sign  Pisces,  w^hich  is  polar  to  Virgo,  the  cosmic  Mother,  repre- 
sents in  one  of  his  numerous  aspects  the  phrenic  or  lower  psychic 
mind,  which  is  symbolized  in  the  Apocalypse  as  the  "Beast,"  Cetus, 
the  southern  paranatellon  of  Pisces. 

With  the  quickening  of  the  psychic  faculties,  and  the  increased 
sense  of  freedom  as  the  neophyte  becomes  conscious  of  planes  of 
life  beyond  the  narrow  confines  of  physical  existence,  he  is  apt  to 
be  too  exhilarated  by  the  newness  and  strangeness  of  his  experi- 
ences, and  to  become  wrought  up  to  a  feverish  state  psychically  by 
the  exuberance  of  the  nervous  ether;  it  takes  the  sober  touch  of  the 
higher  reason  to  dispel  the  illusions  consequent  upon  this  abnormal 
state. 

The  Fallen  Woman  Is  Forgiven— The  Devotional  Faculty  Clarified 
[Lk.  vii.  37-47] 

As  they  reclined  at  table,  a  temple-woman,  Mariam  by  name,  who 
had  found  out  that  lesous  was  dining  at  Simdn's  house,  came  bring- 
ing an  alabaster  flask  of  very  precious  scented  oil,  and  standing 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  55 

behind  at  his  feet,  weeping,  she  bedewed  his  feet  with  her  tears  and 
dried  them  by  wiping  them  with  the  hair  of  her  head ;  and  she  kissed 
his  feet  again  and  again,  and  anointed  them  with  the  oil.  Then 
Simon  whispered  to  lesous  : 

"Being  a  seer,  you  should  have  perceived  what  sort  of  a  woman 
this  is  who  is  fumbling  over  you;  for  she  's  a  prostitute." 

lesous  answered  him : 

"Simon,  I  have  something  to  say  to  you." 

Said  he : 

"Then  say  it.  Teacher." 

lesous  continued : 

"A  certain  monev-lender  had  two  debtors;  one  owed  him  five 
hundred  drachmas,  and  the  other  fifty.  When  they  were  unable  to 
pay,  he  generously  cancelled  their  debts.  Which  of  them,  there- 
fore, will  love  him  most?" 

Simon  answered : 

'T  presume  it  would  be  the  one  for  whom  he  cancelled  the  bigger 
debt." 

lesous  said  to  him  : 

"Rightly  have  you  decided."  And  turning  toward  the  woman, 
he  continued,  addressing  Simon  :  "You  see  this  woman  ?  I  entered 
your  house :  you  gave  me  no  water  for  my  feet,  but  she  has  rained 
tears  on  them  and  has  wiped  them  with  her  hair;  you  gave  me  no 
kiss,  but  she,  since  she  came  in,  has  not  ceased  from  passionately 
kissing  my  feet ;  with  oil  you  did  not  anoint  my  feet,  but  she  has 
anointed  them  with  oil  sweetly  scented.  Because  of  this  I  say  to 
you,  Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven;  for  she  loved  much." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  Simon  appears  in  his  character  as  the  discursive  reason, 
cold,  unsympathetic  and  undiscerning,  while  the  repentant  Mariam 
plays  the  part  of  the  devotional  nature,  the  sins  of  which,  as  re- 
vealed in  the  fanaticism  and  irrational  emotionalism  of  exoteric  re- 
ligion, are  indeed  many,  but  which  has  in  it  the  redeeming  quality 
of  love. 


56 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


In  Matthew  and  Mark  this  allegory  has  been  hopelessly  muti- 
lated by  sanctimonious  forgers,  and  Simdn  is  disguised  as  "the 
leper."  According  to  their  version  the  woman,  who  is  not  described 
as  a  "sinner,"  anoints  the  head  of  lesous,  who  thereupon  explains 
that  she  has  done  so  to  prepare  him  for  his  burial !  But  according 
to  Luke  she  is  a  fallen  woman,  and  she  anoints  the  feet  of  lesous — 
the  allegorical  meaning  plainly  requiring  that  it  should  be  so.  But 
in  Luke  Simon  is  cloaked  as  a  "Pharisee."     Mariam  is  not  named 

in  the  story  as  given  in  the  Synop- 
tics, but  it  is  generally  accepted 
that  she  is  the  fallen  woman  in 
Luke's  version  of  it;  while  the 
(supposedly)  virtuous  woman 
who  anointed  the  head  of  lesous 
is  identified  with  the  Mariam  (the 
sister  of  Lazaros)  who,  according 
to  John  (xii.  3),  anointed  the  feet 
of  lesous.  But  by  thus  applying 
the  oil  to  his  feet,  and  not  to  his 
head,  she  betrays  her  identity  as  the  heroine  of  the  story  in  Luke. 
Lazaros  is  a  mythical  personage  unknown  in  the  Synoptics. 
Mariam  is  called  "the  Magdalen,"  an  epithet  which  clearly  connects 
her  with  the  worship  of  the  Great  Mother,  Rhea,  the  Goddess  with 
the  mural  crown ;  for  nuigdalcnc  is  plainly  "woman  of  a  tower- 
temple"  (niagdal),  and  even  if  the  word  is  taken  in  the  gentile 
significance,  "of  Magdala,"  it  broadly  hints  at  the  same  thing,  since 
a  town  of  Magdala  would  have  derived  its  name  from  the  circum- 
stance that  it  contained  a  "tower"  of  the  Goddess.  Anointing  the 
feet  was  a  Greek  custom.  Thus  Aristophanes  (Wasps,  608)  has 
Philokleon  say,  "My  daughter  washes  me,  and  anoints  my  feet,  and 
stooping  over  me  gives  me  a  kiss." 

The  parable  of  the  two  debtors  does  not  apply  very  neatly  to  the 
case  of  the  Magdalen :  the  sins  of  the  latter  were  forgiven  because 
she  loved  much,  whereas  the  debtor  loved  much  because  his  debt 
was  forgiven.  Possibly  this  parable  may  have  been  added  to  the 
story  by  the  compiler  of  Luke,  who  was  singularly  puzzle-headed. 


Rhea 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  57 

5     The  Fifth  Companion — the  Creative  Power  of  the  Nous 

The  Twin  Brother  of  lesous  Becomes  His  Disciple 
[Mk.  ii.  13,  14.    Lk.  v.  27,  28] 

And  lesous  went  forth  again  beside  the  sea ;  and  as  he  passed  on 
he  saw  his  twin  brother  loudas  sitting  among  a  group  of  friends, 
and  said  to  him  : 

"Come,  follow  me." 

And  loudas  rose  up,  and  left  all,  and  followed  him. 

COMMENTARY 

Anciently  the  year  began  when  the  sun  was  in  Aries,  and  the  Ram 
was  therefore  the  leader  of  the  starry  flock.  The  golden  Ram  is  a 
symbol  of  the  sun,  and  this  is  reduplicated  in  the  sign.  At  the  first 
point  of  Aries  the  sun,  going  northward,  crosses  the  equator,  and  so 
appears  to  hang  on  the  cross  formed  by  the  equator  and  the  ecliptic. 
Hence  the  Regent  of  Aries  (loudas)  is  the  Crucifier  of  the  Sun-God 
(lesous),  while  the  Regent  of  Pisces  (Simon)  is  the  carrier  of  his 
Cross.  In  the  Apocalypse  lesous  is  called  "the  little  Ram"  (aniion) 
and  has  the  martial  aspect  of  Ares,  who  is  domiciled  in  this  sign.  In 
John  (xxi.  15)  lesous,  while  eating  fish  with  his  disciples,  calls  his 
followers  "little  rams"  (artiia),  and  is  himself  called  (i.  29)  "the 
Lamb  (aiiDios)  of  God,  who  carries  the  sin  of  the  world."  The  sign 
Capricornus,  the  Goat-fish,  which  the  sun  enters  at  the  winter  sol- 
stice, is  a  composite  reduplication  of  the  Ram  and  the  Fish,  and  the 
Sun-God  was  said  to  be  born  in  this  sign.  Now,  the  six  constella- 
tions extending  from  midwinter  to  midsummer  represent,  in  the 
microcosmic  zodiac,  the  forces  of  the  inner  man :  the  regent  of  the 
sign  Capricornus  is  the  primary  iattva,  centred  in  the  imlladhdra 
chakra,  its  six  differentiations  being  the  regents  of  the  six  signs  (in 
reverse  order)  from  Sagittarius  to  Cancer;  and  the  regents  of  the 
remaining  five  signs  are  the  pranas,  the  solar  "life-winds."  These 
five  noetic  forces  are  the  "brothers"  of  lesous,  the  Nous.  loudas 
personifies  iidana,  the  prdna  that  "goes  upward  to  immortality," 
and  being  thus  the  occult  creative  power  of  the  Nous  (the  Sun-God 


58 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


lesous),  he  is  more  intimately  related  to  him  than  are  the  other  four 
brothers,  and  is,  allegorically,  his  twin.  Simon  and  Andreas,  and 
loannes  and  lakdbos,  are  also  twins,  and  as  such  are  inseparable. 

The  northern  paranatel- 
lon  of  Aries  is  Cassiopeia, 
whose  "Chair"  probably 
suggested  the  notion  that 
loudas,  when  found,  should 
be  sitting;  the  constellation 
forms  one  of  the  notable 
family-group  made  up  of 
Cepheus,  Cassiopeia,  An- 
dromeda and  Perseus. 

The  head  of  the  so-called 
"Mystic  Dionysos"  (shown 
in  the  engraving  here  re- 
produced from  Plate  LV  in 
Specimens  of  Antient  Sculp- 
ture) is  a  composite  symbol 
of  the  six  zodiacal  signs 
from  Capricornus  to  Cancer : 
it  has  the  claws  of  the  Crab, 
which  by  their  position 
represent  also  the  horns  of 
the  Ram;  it  has  the  ears  of 
the  Bull,  and  the  "dewlap" 
and  loose,  shaggy  hair  of 
the  Goat ;  the  hair  appears 
wet,  and  the  face  and  breast  are  partly  masked  by  the  leaves 
of  an  aquatic  plant,  thus  giving  the  whole  an  Aquarian  aspect;  and 
out  of  the  temples  spring  eels,  symbolizing  alike  the  Fishes  and 
the  Twins,  since  the  eel,  although  it  is  a  fish,  resembles  a  serpent. 
The  Twins  symbolize,  among  other  things,  the  positive  and  the 
negative  currents  of  the  serpent- force,  the  speirema,  as  do  also  the 
two  serpents  entwined  on  the  central  rod  of  the  caduceus,  or  wand 
of  Hermes.    As  is  well  known,  the  worshippers  of  Dionysos  aspired 


Ancient  Mystic  Dionysos 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  59 

to  become  Dionysos.  Through  the  mystic  rite  of  crucifixion  the 
lesous  of  the  sacred  drama  finally  becomes  the  Lord  Dionysos;  but 
from  the  very  first  he  personifies  Dionysos,  and  therefore  in  the 
astronomical  rendering  of  the  allegory  he  is  identical  with  him. 

In  the  process  of  converting  the  allegory  into  a  pseudo-historical 
narrative,  loudas  was  made  out  to  be  a  traitor ;  but  it  seems  that  in 
the  first  instance  his  name  was  allowed  to  stand  as  that  of  the  fifth 
disciple  chosen  by  lesous,  the  forgers  being  content  to  describe  him 
as  a  tax-renter  (teloncs)  "sitting  at  the  tax-ofiice."  The  officials 
who  collected  revenues  were,  as  a  class,  regarded  by  the  people 
with  detestation.  Later  loudas  was  degraded  from  the  rank  of 
fifth  disciple  and  his  name  was  placed  last  in  the  list  of  the  twelve; 
hence  his  name  was  erased  from  the  passage  in  which  the  fifth  dis- 
ciple is  called  and  the  name  "Matthew"  substituted  in  Matthew, 
and  "Levi"  in  Luke,  and  "Levi"  or  "lakobos"  in  Mark;  the  forgers 
were  evidently  "inspired"  with  the  same  motive,  but  worked  inde- 
pendently and  made  the  manuscripts  discordant.  But  this  fictitious 
Matthew-Levi-Iakobos,  thus  inadvertently  given  the  role  of  a  de- 
testable tax-renter,  is  not  mentioned  again  in  the  story :  there  is  no 
place  in  the  zodiac  for  a  thirteenth  sign. 

These  five  companions  of  lesous  are  absolutely  identical  with  the 
regents  of  the  five  pranas,  "life-winds,"  of  the  Upanishads,  the  five 
"winds"  {anemoi)  oi  the  Apocalypse.  In  the  Apocalypse  (vii.  i,  2) 
four  of  these  regents  are  said  to  stand  at  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth,  holding  the  four  winds,  while  the  fifth  regent  ascends  from 
the  source  of  the  sun,  and  has  the  signet-ring  of  the  living  God 
(the  Sun-God)  ;  and  again  (ix.  14;  x.  i)  four  of  the  regents  are 
said  to  be  bound  at  the  great  river  Euphrates  (the  cerebro-spinal 
system),  while  the  fifth,  the  "strong  Divinity,"  is  in  a  cloud  (aure- 
ola), with  a  rainbow  upon  his  head,  his  face  shining  like  the  Sun, 
and  his  feet  like  pillars  of  fire,  and  in  his  hand  he  holds  a  little  book 
open — the  secret  teachings.  In  the  Chhandogya  Upanishad  (iii. 
i-i  I )  the  Sun  is  said  to  have  five  rays,  four  extending  towards  the 
four  quarters,  and  the  fifth  going  upward.  They  proceed  from, 
and  spread  around,  the  Sun,  and  are  the  nectars  of  the  Gods.  To 
four  of  them  are  ascribed  respectively  the  four  Vedas,  while  to  the 


6o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

fifth  are  ascribed  the  secret  teachings,  which  are  "the  nectar  of  nec- 
tars." Four  of  these  rays  are  said  to  be  forms  of  the  Sun,  the  fifth 
being  the  pristine  force  within  the  Sun:  prma,  the  "outgoing  hfe- 
wind,"  is  the  Sun's  ruddy  form  as  it  rises  in  the  east  (symbohzing 
physical  birth)  ;  T'3'a;/a,  the  "distributing  hfe-wind,"  is  the  Sun's  clear 
form  at  noon,  its  meridional  or  southerly  aspect  (symbolizing  life 
at  its  prime)  ;  apdna,  the  "downgoing  life-wind,"  is  the  Sun's  dark 
form  as  it  sets  in  the  west  (symbolizing  physical  death)  ;  sammia, 
the  "uniting  life-wind,"  is  the  Sun's  very  dark  form  at  midnight, 
its  northerly  aspect  (symbolizing  the  subjective  life  in  the  invisible 
world,  between  incarnations)  ;  and  uddna,  the  "upgoing  life-wind," 
which  "throbs  in  the  heart  of  the  Sun,"  is  the  power  that  confers 
immortality.  The  four  manifested  powers  are  connected  with  the 
four  castes,  respectively;  while  the  fifth  power  is  that  which  sus- 
tains "the  perfect,"  the  spiritual  men.  The  four  quarters  (zodiacal 
regions)  are  presided  over  by  the  Fire-God,  the  Sky-God,  the 
Ocean-God  and  the  Moon-God;  while  the  central  region  is  that  of 
Brahma  (the  Logos). 

In  the  lesous-mythos,  Simon  represents  prana;  lakobos,  vydna; 
Andreas,  apdna;  loannes,  sanidna;  and  loudas,  iiddna:  hence,  as 
regents  of  the  five  regions,  Simon  rules  the  Leo-quarter;  lakobos, 
the  Scorpio-quarter;  Andreas,  the  Aquarius-quarter;  loannes,  the 
Taurus-quarter ;  and  loudas,  the  Solar  centre.  In  the  Chhandogya 
Upanishad  (iii.  13)  the  five  prdnas  are  termed  "the  keepers  of  the 
gates  of  the  heaven-world" ;  but  in  the  garbled  text  of  the  Synop- 
tics (Matthew  xvi.  19)  Simon  is  given  all  the  keys  of  heaven. 
Simon  and  Andreas  correspond  to  morning  and  evening,  east  and 
west ;  and  lakobos  and  loannes,  to  noonday  and  midnight,  south 
and  north.  The  four  thus  answer  to  every  quaternary  in  mani- 
fested nature;  while  loudas  has  to  do  with  the  occult,  invisible 
aspect  of  nature.  In  the  solar  cult  the  Sun-God  was  said  to  be  born 
at  the  winter  solstice,  and  the  sign  Capricornus  was  therefore  sup- 
posed to  be  peculiarly  sacred  to  him ;  the  birth  of  lesous,  as  an 
"historical"  event,  is  still  commemorated  when  the  Sun  is  entering 
that  sign.  The  five  succeeding  signs,  Aquarius  to  Gemini,  extend- 
ing to  the  summer  solstice,  are  ascribed  to  the  five  companions  of 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  6i 

lesous;  and  as  Aries  is  the  place  of  the  Sun's  highest  exaltation  it 
is  therefore  the  "house"  of  loudas,  who  represents  the  solar  life- 
wind  that  "throbs  in  the  heart  of  the  Sun"  and  "goes  upward  to 
immortality."  The  remaining  six  signs,  together  with  Capricornus, 
pertain  to  the  seven  tattvas,  which  are  personified  by  the  other  com- 
panions of  lesous,  his  sisters,  of  whom  Mariam  the  Magdalen  (the 
only  one  named  in  the  Synoptics)  represents  the  tejas  tattva. 

How  lesous  Employed  the  Days  and  Nights— The  Action  of 
the  Four  Life-winds 

[Mk.  i.  32-35] 

In  the  evening,  at  set  of  sun,  they  used  to  bring  to  lesous  all  who 
were  sick,  and  those  who  were  possessed  by  evil  spirits ;  and  at  times 
't  would  seem  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  congregated 
at  his  door.  Many  were  the  sufferers  whom  he  healed  of  various 
diseases,  many  were  the  unclean  spirits  whom  he  expelled ;  and  these 
impure  spirits  he  silenced,  lest  they  might  betray  dark  mysteries  of 
the  underworld.  And  very  early,  when  the  dawn-star  heralded  the 
coming  of  the  sun,  he  used  to  rise  up  and  depart  to  a  place  of  soli- 
tude, there  with  the  invisible  Presences  to  commune. 

COMMENTARY 

The  four  manifested  powers  in  nature  rule  the  revolutions  of  the 
seasons  and  the  lesser  quaternary  divisions.  There  is  a  distinct 
change  in  the  electric  atmosphere  of  the  earth  at  sunrise,  noon,  sun- 
set and  midnight,  and  these  changes  are  clearly  felt  by  any  one  sensi- 
tive to  the  subtile  forces.  In  man  the  positive  electro-vital  forces 
prevail  during  the  daytime,  and  the  negative  ones  during  the  night. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  day  the  body  is  more  strongly  charged  with 
the  positive  solar  force  than  at  other  times,  and  the  force  can  there- 
fore be  employed  more  efficiently  in  healing;  and  during  the  night 
the  subjective  nature  is  more  active.  In  Greek  mysticism  Sleep  and 
Death  were  said  to  be  twin  brothers ;  and  this  is  more  than  mere 
poetical  fancy.  During  deep  sleep  the  soul  is  free  for  the  time  from 
the  physical  body,  and  passes  into  the  psychic  and  spiritual  worlds. 
The  material  brain  receives  no  records  of  the  soul's  subjective  ex- 


62  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

periences  except  those  that  may  be  impressed  upon  it  at  the  moment 
of  waking. 

The  Paralytic  Is  Healed— The  Action  of  the  Fifth  Life-wind 
[Lk.  V.  17.    Mk.  ii.  2-5.    Lk.  v.  21.    Mk.  ii.  6.    Lk.  v.  21-25] 

And  on  one  of  those  days  he  was  teaching;  and  grouped  about 
him  were  the  orthodox  and  men  of  conventional  learning,  who  had 
come  from  every  village  of  the  upper  and  lower  countries,  and  from 
the  sacred  city.  The  rumor  had  spread  that  he  was  in  his  house, 
and  many  were  congregated  there,  so  that  there  was  no  more  room 
for  them,  even  at  the  door.  Came  four  men  to  him,  carrying  a 
paralytic ;  and  when  they  could  not  bring  him  nearer  to  lesous  be- 
cause of  the  crowd,  they  made  an  opening  in  the  roof  over  the  room 
where  he  was,  and  they  lowered  through  the  opening  the  couch  on 
which  the  paralyzed  man  was  lying.  And  lesous,  seeing  how  they 
had  surmounted  all  obstacles,  said  to  the  paralytic : 

**My  son,  by  your  sufferings  you  have  atoned  for  your  sins." 

The  learned  men  and  the  orthodox  began  to  argue  in  their  hearts, 
subjectively,  saying : 

"Who  is  this  man  who  arrogates  to  himself  divine  authority? 
Who  but  God  only  can  remit  sins  ?" 

But  lesous,  being  aware  of  their  thoughts,  said  to  them  in  reply : 

"Why  are  you  arguing  in  your  hearts  ?  Which  is  easier,  to  say, 
'Your  sufferings  have  atoned  for  your  sins,'  or  to  say,  'Arise  and 
walk'  ?  But  that  you  may  know  that  the  Son  of  the  Celestial  Man 
has  power  on  earth  to  heal  the  body  and  to  purify  the  soul" — he 
said  to  the  paralytic — "I  say  to  you.  Arise,  take  up  your  couch  and 
go  to  your  house." 

And  at  once  the  man  stood  up  before  them,  and  taking  up  the 
couch  to  which  he  had  been  confined,  he  departed  to  his  house. 

COMMENTARY 

The  fifth  life-wind,  the  up-going  prdna,  has  for  its  channel  the 
sushmmid  ndd'i,  which  extends  to  the  Brahmarandra  ("door  of 
God")  at  the  crown  of  the  head.  It  is  said  that  the  soul  passes 
through  this  "door"  at  the  moment  of  death,  and  through  it,  during 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  63 

life,  the  spiritual  influences  enter.  The  iidana  is  almost  dormant 
in  the  unpurified  man,  in  whom  the  faculty  of  receiving  spiritual 
intuitions  is,  so  to  say,  paralyzed ;  and  in  this  condition  the  ''sins" 
of  intuition  are  those  of  distortion,  error  of  interpretation,  over- 
credulity,  and  the  like :  the  imperfectly  developed  faculty  has  to  be 
sustained  by  the  manifested  four,  and  only  at  the  command  of  the 
Nous  can  it  move  independently  and  proceed  to  its  own  mystic 
"house." 

The  appellation  6  uio?  tov  avOpconov  can  not  be  taken  as  "the 
son  of  man"  in  the  sense  of  mortality;  lesous  is  the  Son  of  the 
"Grand  ^Vlan,"  the  Celestial  Being  symbolized  by  the  forty-eight 
constellations,  and  when  he  becomes  one  with  his  Heavenly  Father 
he  is  the  Anointed  King  (Christos)  of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces 
—the  full  spiritual  consciousness. 

6.    The  Banquet  at  the  House  of  the  Fifth  Disciple — the 
Abode  of  True  Knowledge 

The  Twin  Allegories  of  the  Lost  Sheep  and  the  Lost  Coin — The 
Spiritual  Faculty  Regained 

[Lk.  V.  29-32;  xix.  10.    Matt,  xviii.  12,  13.    Lk.  xv.  8,  9] 

loudas  at  his  house  entertained  lesous  with  a  banquet;  and  there 
reclined  at  table  with  them  a  crowd  of  tradesmen  and  others.  And 
the  orthodox  and  their  men  of  learning  kept  grumbling  in  whispers 
at  his  disciples,  saying: 

"Why  do  you  eat  and  drink  with  swindling  tradesmen  and  social 
outcasts?" 

lesous  answered  them : 

"The  sick,  not  the  healthy,  require  a  physician.  I  have  come  to 
exhort  the  erring,  not  the  virtuous,  to  reform.  For  the  Son  of  the 
Celestial  Man  has  come  to  save  the  ruined  and  to  seek  the  lost. 
What  think  ye?  li  a  man  owns  a  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them 
has  gone  astray,  does  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine,  and  go  upon 
the  hills  and  seek  for  the  one  that  has  strayed?  And  when  he  has 
found  it,  he  rejoices  over  it  more  than  over  the  ninety  and  nine  that 
strayed  not.  Or  what  woman,  having  ten  silver  coins,  should  she 
lose  one  of  them,  does  not  light  a  lamp  and  search  carefully  till  she 


64  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

finds  it  ?  And  when  she  has  found  it,  she  calls  together  her  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  saying,  'Congratulate  me,  for  I  have  found  the 
coin  which  I  lost.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

As  the  five  noetic  powers  have  their  positive  and  negative  aspects, 
they  are  often  enumerated  as  ten,  while  their  differentiated  powers 
may,  of  course,  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  The  forces  of  the  incar- 
nated man  are  inverted ;  and  it  is  precisely  the  highest  attributes  of 
his  nature  that  are  most  debased :  his  creative  power  is  wedded  to 
lust,  and  his  devotional  faculty  is  divorced  from  reason. 

The  likening  of  a  hardened  sinner  to  a  lost  sheep  would  not  be 
an  apt  similitude.  Few  men,  however,  have  the  ability  to  become 
purposely  wicked ;  sins  are  more  generally  due  to  weakness  than  to 
strength.  The  Greek  word  here  used  for  "sin,"  hamartia,  has  for 
its  root-signification  "missing  the  mark":  it  is  sin  in  the  sense  of 
failure  to  do  that  wdiich  is  right,  or  error  of  judgment.  Here  the 
similitude  is  an  allegory  within  an  allegory ;  for  "the  ruined  and  the 
lost"  are  the  finer  faculties  of  individual  man. 

Merely  to  avoid  a  literary  oddity,  the  "tax-renters"  of  the  text 
are  here  changed  to  "swindling  tradesmen,"  as  if  reading  KaTrrjXoi, 
"higglers,"  or  petty  retail  dealers. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Prodigal  Son— the  Soul  in  the  Cycle  of  Reincarnation 

[Lk.  XV.  11-32] 

And  he  related  an  allegory : 

"A  man  there  was  who  had  two  sons ;  and  said  the  younger  of 
them  to  his  father : 

"  'Assign  to  me.  Father,  my  proper  share  of  the  substance.' 

"So  he  apportioned  to  them  the  living.  And  not  many  days 
after,  the  younger  son,  having  brought  together  all  his  possessions, 
wended  his  way  to  a  distant  land,  and  there  he  dissipated  his  sub- 
stance, leading  the  life  of  a  profligate.  Now,  when  he  had  spent 
his  all,  grim  famine  stalked  throughout  that  land,  and  he  had  his 
first  experience  of  utter  poverty.  He  was  driven  to  become  a  menial 
of  one  of  the  citizens  of  that  land,  and  he  sent  him  into  his  fields 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  65 

to  feed  swine.  He  used  to  long  to  allay  the  pangs  of  hunger  with 
the  carob-pods  which  the  swine  were  eating ;  but  no  one  was  gener- 
ous to  him.    And  w'hen  he  came  to  himself  he  said : 

"  'How  many  of  my  father's  wage-workers  have  bread  more 
than  enough,  and  here  I  am  dying  for  want  of  food !  I  shall  arise 
and  go  to  my  father,  and  I  shall  say  unto  him.  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  my  inner  consciousness  and  in  your  esteem ;  I  am  unworthy 
now  to  be  called  your  son;  give  me  employ  as  one  of  your  menials.' 

"And  he  arose  and  went  to  his  father.  Now,  while  he  was  yet 
far  away,  his  father  saw  him,  and  his  heart  was  thrilled,  and  running 
to  him  he  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him  again  and  again.  But 
the  son  said  to  him  : 

"  'Father,  against  my  inner  consciousness  and  in  your  esteem 
have  I  sinned.     I  am  now  unworthy  to  be  called  your  son.' 

"But  the  father  said  to  his  servants : 

"  'Bring  out  quickly  the  robe  of  first  rank  and  invest  him  with 
it ;  on  his  hand  place  the  seal-ring  of  authority,  and  lace  sandals  on 
his  feet.  Fetch  the  fatted  calf  and  slay  it  as  a  thank-offering;  and 
let  us  celebrate  with  joyous  feast,  for  this  son  of  mine  was  dead  and 
has  come  to  life,  was  lost  and  is  found.' 

"And  they  started  in  on  their  festivity.  Now,  the  older  son  was 
in  the  field,  and  as  he  drew  near,  on  coming  back  to  the  house,  he 
heard  festal  music  and  dancing.  Calling  to  him  one  of  the  servants, 
he  inquired  what  was  the  occasion  of  these  festivities.  He  answered 
him : 

"  'Your  brother  has  returned,  and  your  father  has  sacrificed  the 
fatted  calf,  because  he  has  regained  him  hale  and  hearty.' 

''Then  the  older  son  gave  way  to  anger,  and  sullenly  refused  to 
go  in.  His  father  came  out  and  tried  to  persuade  him.  But  he  an- 
swered his  father : 

"  'Behold,  I  have  worked  like  a  slave  for  you  for  many  a  year, 
and  never  a  command  of  yours  have  I  transgressed ;  yet  you  have 
never  given  me  even  a  kid  that  I  might  feast  joyously  with  my  com- 
panions; but  when  this  son  of  yours  came  back,  after  he  had  con- 
sumed your  living  with  strumpets,  you  have  killed  in  honor  of  him 
the  fatted  calf.' 


66  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"But  liis  father  said  to  him : 

"  'My  child,  you  are  with  me  always,  and  everything  of  mine  is 
yours;  so  't  was  natural  and  becoming  to  celebrate  with  feasting 
and  rejoicing  because  your  brother  was  dead  and  is  restored  to  life, 
was  lost  and  is  found.' 

COMMENTARY 

The  allegory  pictures  the  descent  of  the  soul  into  the  sphere  of 
generation,  where  it  dissipates  its  divine  life-essence,  until,  at  the 
lowest  point  of  the  cycle,  it  realizes  the  emptiness  and  misery  of 
material  existence ;  and  then  its  reascent  to  the  divine  sphere  when 
it  has  regained  self-consciousness.  When  incarnated,  the  soul  is 
spoken  of  as  being  dead ;  its  return  to  the  house  of  the  Father  is  its 
resurrection  to  life  eternal. 

lesous  Banters  the  Conventionalists— the  Immature  Souls 
[Matt.  xi.  16-19.    Lk.  vii.  31,  35;  v.  33,  34] 

"But  to  what  shall  I  liken  the  men  of  this  generative  sphere? 
They  are  like  children  sitting  in  the  market-place,  who  call  to  their 
playmates : 

"  'For  you  the  flute  we  merrily  played. 

But  you  did  n't  dance  with  twinkling  feet ; 
And  when  a  mournful  dirge  we  made. 
Your  breast  you  did  n't  wildly  beat.' 

"For  Idannes  came  neither  eating  flesh  nor  drinking  wine;  and 
they  say,  'He  's  possessed  by  a  spirit.'  The  Son  of  the  Celestial 
Man  comes  eating  and  drinking;  and  they  say,  'Behold,  he  's  a  glut- 
ton and  a  wine-drunkard,  a  boon  companion  of  knaves  and  vaga- 
bonds.'   And  by  all  her  disciples  'Learning'  is  held  to  be  accurate!" 

They  retorted : 

"The  disciples  of  loannes  fast  often ;  so  also  do  the  followers  of 
the  orthodox  priests.     But  yours  keep  eating  and  drinking." 

Said  lesous  to  them  : 

"Can  you  make  the  friends  of  the  bridegroom  fast  while  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them  in  the  festal  hall?" 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  67 

COMMENTARY 

Having  superbly  likened  the  awakened  soul  to  a  repentant  prodi- 
gal son,  lesous  humorously  casts  about  for  a  similitude  of  the  souls 
who  are  lost  in  the  dream-like  illusions  of  the  lower  life,  and  he 
finds  it  in  the  children,  who,  having  no  serious  occupation,  divert 
themselves  by  mimicking  the  joyful  and  the  sorrowful  proceedings 
of  grown-up  people.  The  juvenile  jingle  which  he  quotes  alludes 
to  childish  pastimes  imitative  of  festal  dancing  and  funeral  cere- 
monies. To  the  conventionalist,  even  if  he  is  a  man  of  learning, 
the  psychic  appears  to  be  a  person  of  unbalanced  mind  or  a  victim 
of  superstition,  the  man  spiritually  exalted  is  a  mentally  intoxicated 
visionary,  and  the  unselfish  humanitarian  is  an  eccentric  who  dis- 
graces himself  by  associating  with  the  lowly  and  the  disreputable. 

loannes  is  spoken  of  as  an  ascetic,  one  engaged  in  subduing  the 
desires  of  the  physical  nature ;  while  lesous,  who  has  passed  through 
the  preliminary  purificatory  discipline,  quaffs  deeply  the  wine  of 
the  spiritual  life.  Bakchos  was  sometimes  described  as  the  jovial 
God  of  wine,  and  sometimes  his  character  was  given  as  of  the  most 
exalted  purity:  owing  to  these  inconsistent  accounts  of  him,  Dio- 
doros,  Cicero  and  others  supposed  that  several  personages  had  been 
confounded  together  under  the  name  of  Bakchos.  Indeed,  the 
Semitic  Dionysos,  the  God  of  Seership  and  Divine  Inspiration,  and 
fabled  founder  of  the  Mysteries,  appears  to  have  been  confounded 
with  the  indigenous  Hellenic  Bakchos,  who,  as  God  of  the  Vine, 
represented  the  productive  and  generative  principle  in  nature. 

lesous  terms  his  five  disciples,  or  companions,  according  to  the 
perverted  text,  "the  sons  of  the  bridechamber,"  the  latter  word 
probably  being  used,  as  in  Matthezv  xxii.  10,  for  the  hall  in  which 
the  wedding  feast  took  place;  the  same  word,  nymphon,  was  also 
a  pagan  term  for  a  temple  of  Bakchos.  The  mystic  marriage  was 
celebrated  in  the  ^Mysteries,  and  its  meaning  is  beautifully  elucidated 
in  the  Apocalypse.  Here  lesous  represents  himself  as  the  bride- 
groom and  his  disciples  as  his  groomsmen;  the  word  "sons,"  for 
attendants,  in  the  falsified  text,  is  used  in  an  attempt  to  imitate 
Hebraic  expressions. 


68  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Twin  Allegories  of  the  Patched  Garment  and  the  Old  Wineskins— New 
Truths  Too  Vital  for  Old  Organizations 

[Lk.  V.  36.    Mk.  ii.  21.    Matt.  ix.  17.    Lk.  v.  39] 

And  he  related  to  them  two  other  allegories : 

"No  aian  sews  a  patch  of  imcarded  cloth  on  an  old  cloak,  for  the 
stiff  new  patch  tears  off  from  the  worn  old  cloth,  and  a  worse  rent 
is  made;  nor  does  the  cloth  so  added  harmonize  with  the  old.  Nei- 
ther do  men  put  new  wine  into  old  wineskins,  for  if  that  is  done  the 
skins  burst,  the  wine  is  spilled  and  the  skins  are  ruined;  but  they 
put  new  wine  into  new-made  wineskins,  and  both  are  preserved. 
And  no  man  cares  for  new  wine  directly  he  has  drunk  the  old ;  for 
he  says,  'The  old  is  better.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

An  old  religious  organization,  with  its  deteriorated  faith,  can  not 
be  made  the  proper  vehicle  of  new  truths,  nor  can  its  w-orn-out  creed 
be  harmoniously  patched  by  the  addition  of  new  material  represent- 
ing bolder  beliefs.  Truth  itself  is  changeless;  it  is  only  its  varying 
forms  of  expression  that  may  be  termed  new  or  old:  the  great 
philosophers  and  religious  teachers  are  not  originators,  but  trans- 
mitters; they  only  hand  down  the  traditionary  lore,  adapting  the 
form  of  statement  to  suit  the  requirements  of  each  age. 

However,  much  that  is  brought  forward  as  "new"  by  exoteric 
philosophers  and  religious  sectarians  is  merely  speculative  and  often 
untrue,  and  so  does  not  appeal  to  the  student  who  has  gained  insight 
into  the  ancient  esoteric  philosophy. 

The  Enfeebled  Woman  Healed,  and  the  Moribund  Maiden  Awakened— The 
Exoteric  and  the  Esoteric  Systems  Revivified 

[Matt.  ix.  18.    Mk.  v.  23.    Lk.  viii.  42.    Mk.  v.  24-27.    Lk.  viii.  44.    Mk.  v.  28. 
Lk.  viii.  44.    Mk.  v.  2^40.    Lk.  viii.  53-55] 

While  he  was  speaking  these  allegories  to  them,  came  the  king- 
archon,  ruler  over  all  exoteric  worship,  and  bowing  low  before  him 
urgently  entreated  him,  saying : 

"My  little  daughter  is  at  the  point  of  death :  long  has  she  lain  in 
deathlike  trance,  and  none  can  awaken  her,  nor  can  any  nourish- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  69 

ment  pass  her  lips.  I  implore  you  to  come  and  lay  your  hands  on 
her,  that  she  may  be  restored  to  life  and  health." 

Now,  this  little  daughter,  thus  entranced  and  wasting  away  for 
want  of  food,  was  twelve  years  of  age.  lesous  went  with  him;  and 
a  great  crowd  went  along  after  lesous,  and  jostled  him.  And  a 
certain  woman,  who  for  twelve  years  had  been  drained  of  her  vital- 
ity by  an  issue  of  blood,  and  had  undergone  many  treatments  by 
many  physicians,  until  she  had  spent  all  her  means,  yet  was  in  no 
way  benefited,  but  rather  grew  worse,  having  heard  the  reports 
about  lesous,  came  in  the  crowd  behind  him  and  touched  the  hem 
of  his  mantle.     For  to  herself  she  said : 

"If  only  his  outer  garment  I  touch,  I  shall  be  healed." 

And  immediately  her  issue  of  blood  ceased,  and  she  felt  in  her 
body  that  she  was  healed  of  her  infirmity.  lesous,  perceiving  sub- 
jectively that  his  exodic  force  had  gone  forth,  instantly  turned  to 
the  crowd  behind  him  and  said : 

"Who  touched  my  outer  garment  ?" 

Said  to  him  his  disciples  : 

"You  see  the  crowd  jostling  you,  and  you  ask,  *\Vho  touched 
me?'" 

His  gaze  swept  around  to  detect  her  who  had  caused  this.  But 
the  woman,  awed  and  trembling  from  the  realization  of  her  in- 
stantaneous cure,  came  and  prostrated  herself  before  him,  and  told 
him  the  whole  truth.     He  said  to  her : 

"Daughter,  your  faith  has  saved  you;  go  in  peace." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  messengers  arrived  from  the  king-archon's 
house,  saying: 

"Your  daughter  is  dead.  Why  put  the  Healer  to  further 
trouble  ?" 

But  lesous  said  to  the  king-archon : 

"Fear  not;  only  retain  your  faith  in  me." 

And  he  permitted  no  one  to  accompany  him  save  loudas,  lakobos 
and  loannes.  They  reached  the  house  of  the  king-archon ;  and  the 
scene  it  presented  was  one  of  uproar,  the  members  of  the  household 
weeping  and  uttering  piercing  cries.  Having  entered,  he  said  to 
them : 


70  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Why  are  you  weeping  and  creating  an  uproar?  Death  has  not 
claimed  the  child ;  she  is  but  clasped  in  the  arms  of  slumber." 

But  they,  firmly  convinced  that  she  was  dead,  scoffed  at  him  with 
mirthless  laughter.  But  lesous,  grasping  her  hand,  with  ringing 
voice  addressed  her : 

"Awake,  little  maid !" 

And  her  soul  returned,  and  immediately  she  arose;  and  he  di- 
rected that  something  should  be  given  her  to  eat. 

COMMENTARY 

In  this  rather  elaborate  allegory  the  little  maid  represents  the  eso- 
teric doctrine,  and  the  woman  the  exoteric  or  popular  religion.  The 
tendency  of  a  formulated  system  of  belief  is  to  lose  its  vitality;  and 
the  efforts  of  exoteric  religious  reformers  and  speculative  theolo- 
gians to  reinvigorate  it,  so  far  from  renewing  its  strength,  only 
serve  to  weaken  it  the  more.  Its  moral  force  can  be  renewed  only 
when  it  touches  the  outer  robe  of  the  higher  consciousness.  The 
esoteric  knowledge  also  tends  to  die  out  in  the  world  for  lack  of 
learners  who  are  spiritually  awake  and  capable  of  receiving  it.  The 
woman  is  said  to  have  been  suffering  for  twelve  years,  and  the  age 
of  the  little  maid  is  given  as  twelve  years;  thus  in  each  case  the 
number  of  the  psychic  and  spiritual  forces  is  stated.  The  scoffing 
mourners,  who  are  quite  sure  that  the  girl  is  dead,  may  be  taken  to 
be  the  agnostics  and  materialists,  who  regard  religion  as  a  corpse. 

By  analogy,  the  woman  and  the  little  maiden  may  be  taken  to 
personify  two  stages  in  the  intellectual  life  of  the  neophyte.  For 
usually,  in  the  quest  for  truth,  the  seeker  begins  by  studying  the 
various  religious  cults,  only  to  find  his  faith  diminishing  rather 
than  increasing  because  of  his  investigations ;  while  at  the  same  time 
his  intuitive  faculty  is  too  dormant  for  him  to  apprehend  spiritual 
realities :  so  his  soul  slumbers  until  it  is  called  back  by  the  awaken- 
ing touch  of  the  Self. 

It  was  the  popular  belief  that  the  hem  of  a  magician's  cloak  was 
especially  charged  with  healing  virtue,  his  prana,  which  is  called  in 
the  text  "his  outgoing  force"  {/q  i^  avrov  Swa/Ats).  But  when 
he  goes  to  awaken  the  little  maid,  lesous  takes  with  him  the  three 


THE  AXOIXTIXG  OF  lESOUS  71 

companions  who  correspond  to  the  triple  fire  of  the  kundalim: 
loannes  and  lakobos,  ''the  two  Sons  of  Thunder,"  representing-  Ida 
and  pi )i gala,  and  loudas  the  central  current,  sushuuuia.  In  the 
falsified  text  Petros,  the  mythical  patron  saint  of  the  church,  has 
been  substituted  for  the  discredited  loudas.  Although  the  malady 
of  the  little  maid  is  not  named  or  described  in  the  text,  the  state- 
ment of  lesous  that  "she  is  not  dead,  but  is  sleeping,"  and  his  com- 
mand that  she  should  be  given  food,  ma}'  be  taken  as  a  sufficient 
diagnosis. 

The  "archon  of  the  synagogue."  in  the  falsified  text,  is  very  prob- 
ably a  pseudo-Jewish  substitute  for  the  Athenian  king-archon,  who 
was  second  of  the  nine  chief  magistrates  and  had  charge  of  all  pub- 
lic worship. 

7.    The  Voyage  to  the  Place  of  the  Abyss — the  Psychic  World 

lesous  Stills  the  Tempest  — Brings  the  Psychic  Forces  to  Equilibrium 
[Lk.  viii.  22,  23.     Mk.  iv.  37-39] 

Now,  it  befell  that  on  one  of  those  days  he  went,  at  even-tide,  on 
board  the  ship,  his  disciples  accompanying  him;  and  to  them  he 
said: 

"Let  us  pass  over  to  the  other  side." 

They  put  out  to  sea.  As  they  sailed,  he  fell  asleep.  A  violent 
storm  swept  down  upon  the  sea,  and  the  waves  broke  over  the  ship, 
so  that  it  was  on  the  verge  of  foundering.  But  lesous  slept  on, 
recumbent  in  the  stern  of  the  ship,  his  head  resting  on  the  cushion. 
His  disciples  awoke  him,  and  said  to  him : 

"Save  us.  Captain  :  we  are  perishing!" 

He  awoke,  and  reproved  the  wind,  and  to  the  sea  he  said : 

"Be  quiet,  and  put  a  bridle  on  thy  wrath." 

Then  raging  storm  gave  way  to  calm  serene. 

COMMENTARY 

Having  completed  the  twelve  initial  labors,  by  arousing  the 
twelve  forces  symbolized  by  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs,  the  neophyte 
has  now  become  capable  of  conscious  action  in  the  psychic  realm, 


o 
U 

c 

e 

lO 

!2 
*S 
(A 
o 

04 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  73 

the  world  of  unequilibrated  forces,  which  is  often  termed,  in  mysti- 
cal literature,  ''the  sea,"  or  deep  of  chaos.  The  ''ship"  in  which  he 
journeys  is  the  subtile  body,  which  is  normally  the  vehicle  of  the 
soul  when  the  physical  body  is  asleep.  Among  the  constellations  it 
is  represented  by  Argo  Xavis.  The  Argo,  according  to  Greek  myth- 
ology, was  the  first  ship  ever  built.  lason,  so  runs  the  myth,  when 
he  became  of  age  demanded  his  kingly  crown,  but  before  it  was 
given  him  he  was  sent  in  quest  of  the  golden  fleece  of  the  Ram. 
The  Argo  was  built  to  contain  fifty  men  (the  round  number  for 
forty-nine),  and  in  it  lason  embarked  with  his  tzcche  companions, 
among  whom  were  Orpheus  and  the  twins  Kastdr  and  Polydeukes, 
the  egg-born  sons  of  the  Thunderer.  When  a  violent  storm  threat- 
ened to  sink  the  ship,  Orpheus  played  on  his  harp  and  stilled  the 
storm,  and  stars  then  glittered  upon  the  heads  of  the  twins. 

lesous  Expels  the  Unclean  Spirits  from  the  Tomb-dweller — 
Banishes  the  Elemental  Self 

[Mk.  V.  I,  2.    Lk.  viii.  27.    Mk.  v.  3-5.    Lk.  viii.  28,  30.    Matt.  viii.  29. 
Mk.  V.  7.     Lk.  viii.  31-37.     Mk.  v.  17] 

To  the  Other  side  of  the  sea  they  came,  to  a  place  where  there  is 
a  great  chasm.  And  when  he  had  gone  ashore  from  the  ship,  there 
met  him  a  certain  man,  a  native  of  that  country,  who  was  possessed 
by  spirits  and  for  a  long  time  had  gone  unkempt  and  unclad,  and 
had  abandoned  the  homes  of  the  living  to  dwell  among  the  tombs 
of  the  dead.  And  now  no  one  could  place  him  under  restraint,  even 
with  a  chain;  for  often  he  had  been  fettered  and  chained,  but  the 
chains  had  been  snapped  by  him,  and  the  fetters  shattered.  No  one 
was  able  to  tame  him.  And  always,  night  and  day,  he  prowled 
among  the  tombs  and  in  the  hills,  screaming  and  gashing  himself 
with  stones.  When  he  caught  sight  of  lesous,  he  ran  to  him,  scream- 
ing hoarsely,  and  fell  at  his  feet.    lesous  asked  him : 

"What  is  your  name?" 

But  the  spirits,  answering  through  the  man,  said : 

"What  matters  that  to  you?  There  is  a  throng  of  us,  and  our 
names  are  many.  Have  you  come  here  to  torment  us  before  the 
season?" 


74  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

For  indeed  many  spirits  had  got  into  the  man ;  and  they  abjectly 
implored  lesous  not  to  send  them  into  the  bottomless  chasm.  Now, 
there  was  a  herd  of  many  swine  hard  by,  grazing  on  the  hill ;  and 
the  spirits  entreated  him  to  grant  them  permission  to  enter  into 
them.  He  granted  it ;  and  the  spirits  came  out  of  the  man  and  went 
into  the  swine.  But  the  swine,  rather  than  be  possessed  by  these 
foul  shades,  rushed  down  over  the  precipitous  shore-land  into  the 
sea  and  drowned  themselves.  When  the  swineherds  saw  what  had 
taken  place,  they  fled,  and  spread  the  report  throughout  city  and 
country.  The  inhabitants  went  out  to  see  what  had  happened ;  and 
when  they  found  the  man  from  whom  the  spirits  had  been  expelled 
sitting  clothed  and  restored  to  sanity  at  the  feet  of  lesous,  they  re- 
garded lesous  with  superstitious  fear.  Then  the  entire  populace, 
who  were  worshippers  of  spirits,  were  angered  at  the  loss  of  both 
the  swine  and  the  spirits,  and  they  urged  lesous  to  depart  from  their 
borders.    So  he  went  aboard  the  ship,  and  left  that  land. 

COMMENTARY 

There  is  a  principle  in  man's  nature  which  is  even  more  gross 
than  the  physical  body,  though  less  material ;  and  this  is  the  ele- 
mental self,  that  part  of  him  which  after  death  becomes  the  "ghost," 
or  "unclean  spirit,"  and  which  during  life  may  be  regarded  as  his 
evil  genius.  In  it  are  centred  the  animalistic  tendencies  and  impure 
desires;  and  as  a  psychic  entity,  during  the  life  of  the  physical  body, 
as  well  as  after  the  death  of  the  latter,  it  is,  on  its  own  plane,  the 
associate  of  evil  spirits,  a  haunter  of  graveyards.  It  is  a  principle 
that  may  be  purified  and  subjugated,  becoming  then  an  element  of 
strength;  but  if  it  becomes  irredeemably  evil  it  is  doomed  to  the 
"abyss,"  to  annihilation. 

The  reference  in  the  text  to  the  Abyss,  or  bottomless  chasm,  in 
connection  with  the  herd  of  swine,  and  the  curious  statement  that 
the  pigs  "were  choked  in  the  sea"  —  for  the  verb  used  was  rarely 
employed  to  signify  drowning — are  reminiscent  of  the  "mystic 
pigs"  which,  in  the  Thesmophorian  Mysteries,  were  thrown  into 
underground  caves  or  vaults  in  commemoration  of  the  lost  swine 
of  Eubouleus.     When  Plouton  seized  Persephone  to  carry  her  away 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


75 


to  the  underworld,  so  runs  the  myth,  a  swineherd  named  Eubouleus 
was  herding  swine  at  that  very  place,  and  the  swine  were  engulfed 
in  the  chasm  down  which  the 
netherworld  God  vanished  with  his 
fair  captive.  The  story  told  in  the 
Gospels  has  suffered  the  loss  of  its 
point,  no  reason  being  given  for 
the  suicide  of  the  pigs,  and  no 
plausible  reason  being  suggested 
for  the  entreaty  of  the  people  that 
lesous  should  depart  from  their 
borders.  But,  obviously,  the  spirits, 
who  desired  to  possess  the  bodies 
of  the  pigs,  would  not  have  insti- 
gated the  swine  to  drown  them- 
selves; the  swine,  unlike  the  pos- 
sessed man,  refused  to  harbor  the 
unclean  spirits.  It  is  a  satire  on 
spiritualism.  The  vaults  used  in 
the  Thesmophoria,  into  which  pigs 
were  thrown  to  stifle  (though  usu- 
ally only  clay  images  of  pigs  were 
employed),  were  called  mcgara 
(also  magara)  ;  and  possibly  this 
combination  of  letters  may  have 
had  some  influence  on  the  mind  of 
the  forger  who  invented  the  word 
Gadarcnos.  The  text  speaks  of 
'"the    country    of    the    Gadarenes" 

(with  playful  variations,  as  "Gerasenes"  and  ''Gergasenes")  ;  but 
no  country  named  Gadara  existed,  and  although  there  was  a  city  of 
that  name,  the  metropolis  of  Peraea,  it  was  some  miles  inland. 

The  words  "before  the  season,"  as  also  "until  the  season"  in  the 
passage  about  the  temptation,  are  significant.  The  zodiacal  regions, 
corresponding  to  the  seasons  of  the  year,  had  each  its  Regent. 
Plouton  ruled  the  Scorpio-quarter. 


Plouton  and  Persephone 


76  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

II 

THE  INITIATION  BY  AIR-SPIRITUAL 
DEGREE;  STELLAR 

I.    lesous  Appoints  Forty-eight  Disciples — the 
Forty-eight  Constellations 

The  Twelve  Companions  Are  Chosen  and  Assigned  to  Their  Thrones— 
The  Zodiacal  Constellations  and  Their  Signs 

[Matt.  V.  I.     Alk.  iii.  13,  14,  16-19.     Matt.  xix.  27-29.    Lk.  xviii.  29.     Matt.  v.  14. 
Lk.  xi.  33.    Matt.  v.  15.    Lk.  xi.  34.     Mk.  iv.  24.    Lk.  viii.  17,  18] 

lesous  ascended  the  sacred  mountain  ;  and  when  he  was  seated 
there,  his  disciples  came  to  him.  And  he  appointed  twelve  to  be  his 
companions:  his  five  brothers — loannes  and  lakobos,  who  are  as 
the  forked  lightnings  of  the  shining  cloud ;  Andreas  and  Simon, 
who  are  as  its  reverberating  thunders;  and  loudas,  who  is  as  the 
thunderbolt  that  strikes — and  his  seven  sisters,  whom  he  likened  to 
the  seven  rainbow  hues.     Then  Simon  spoke  up,  and  said  to  him : 

"Behold,  we  have  renounced  all,  and  have  followed  you.  What, 
then,  are  we  to  obtain  ?" 

Said  lesous  to  them  : 

"When,  after  the  new^  birth,  the  Son  of  the  Heavenly  Man  shall 
be  seated  on  his  effulgent  throne,  you  who  have  followed  me  shall 
also  sit  upon  your  twelve  thrones  and  rule  over  the  tw^elve  celestial 
houses.  Every  one  who  has  renounced  his  earthly  house  and  all 
material  possessions  in  his  quest  for  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces 
shall  receive  in  that  realm  celestial  a  house  and  possessions  vastly 
larger,  and  shall  have  share  in  the  life  supernal.  In  man  is  the  light 
of  the  universe.  But  no  one,  when  he  has  lighted  a  lamp,  secretes 
it  in  the  cellar  or  under  a  bushel ;  but  he  puts  it  on  the  lampstand, 
and  it  shines  for  all  who  are  in  the  house.  The  lamp  of  the  body  is 
the  'single  eye' ;  therefore  when  that  eye  is  open  the  whole  body  is 
bathed  in  light,  but  when  it  is  atrophied  the  body  is  shrouded  in 
darkness.  If,  then,  your  inner  luminary  is  extinguished,  how  dense 
is  the  darkness !    But  nothing  is  latent  that  shall  not  become  mani- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


17 


fested,  nor  is  anything  obscure  that 
shall  not  be  investigated  and  come 
to  be  obvious.   Take  heed,  therefore, 
how  you  hear :  by  the  rule  which  you 
use  in  measuring  will  truth  be  meas- 
ured to  you  again,  and  to  }'Ou  who 
understand       greater 
wisdom  wmII  be  added; 
for  to  him   who   has 
shall  truth  be  given, 
and  from  him  who  has 
not    shall    be    taken 
away  even  that  which 
he  imagines  he  has." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Mount  Olympos  of  mythol- 
ogy, with  its  cloud-land  gate,  sym- 
bolized terrestrially  the  zodiac  in  the 
heavens,  its  encircling  peaks  corre- 
sponding to  the  zodiacal  signs ;  so 
the  six  Gods  and  six  Goddesses 
who  sat  upon  the  twelve  peaks  of 
Olympos  are  the  Guardians  of  the 
twelve  zodiacal  signs,  and  according 
to  the  ancient  Hellenic  arrangement 
they  are  allotted  to  the  signs  in  pairs 
of  opposites,  as  follows : 


Gemini  (Didymoi)       .     .  Apolldn 

Taurus  (Tauros)    .     .     .  Aphrodite 

Aries  (Krios)     ....  Athena 

Pisces  (Ichthyes)    .     .     .  Poseidon 

Aquarius  {Hydrochoos)  .  Hera 

Capricornus  (Aigokeros)  Hestia 


Athena 

Sagittarius  (Toxote's)      .  Artemis 

Scorpio  (Skorpios)      .     .  Ares 

Libra  (Chclai)     ....  Hephaistos 

Virgo  (Parthenos)      .     .  Demeter 

Leo  (Leon) Zeus 

Cancer    (Karkinos)     .     .  Hermes 


But  in  the  lesous-mythos  the  Guardians  of  the  five  signs  Gemini, 
Taurus,  Aries,  Pisces  and  Aquarius  are  males,  and  the  Guardians 
of  the  remaining  seven  signs  are  females.     To  meet  this  condition 


78  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Athena  must  exchange  places  with  her  polar  (opposite,  Ilephaistos, 
and  so  also  of  Aphrodite  and  Hera,  while  Hermes,  the  androgynous 
Deity,  must  wear  a  female  aspect.  Thus  arranged,  Andreas  corre- 
s[)()nd«  to  Zeus.  Simon  to  Poseidon,  loannes  to  Ares,  lakobos  to 
Apollon,  and  loudas  to  Hephaistos.  loudas,  presiding  over  the  sigii 
in  which  tiie  Sun  on  its  ecliptic  path  crosses  the  equator  at  the  ver- 
nal ecpiinox,  is  necessarily  the  agent  of  the  crucifixion,  even  as 
Hephaistos,  artificer  to  the  Gods  and  forger  of  thunderbolts,  riveted 
Prometheus  to  the  rock.  In  the  task  of  crucifying  the  Seer  Prome- 
theus, Hephaistos  was  assisted  by  Kratos  ("Strength")  and  Bia 
("Force"),  the  three  personifying  the  triple  divine  fire. 

The  Synoptics  name  all  the  twelve  companions  as  men  (the  primi- 
tive "Christians"  being  fanatically  prejudiced  against  women)  ;  but 
none  of  the  seven  substitutes  for  the  sisters  are  mentioned  by  name 
anywhere  else  in  the  text.  As  described  in  the  reconstructed  passage 
above,  the  five  brothers  (prdnas)  are  referred  to  the  kundalim 
(vital  electricity),  and  the  seven  sisters  (tattvas)  to  the  colors  of 
the  solar  spectrum. 

Simon,  in  his  character  as  the  discursive  reason,  is  satirized  :  he 
has  renounced  everything — in  expectation  of  a  reward  for  so  doing! 
Yet  there  is  more  than  satire  in  this:  it  expresses  a  profound  truth. 
Looking  for  a  reward  is  but  a  form  of  covetousness,  even  though 
the  reward  desired  is  a  spiritual  one.  The  perfect  renunciation  of 
all  that  pertains  to  the  lower  life,  of  all  that  is  ignoble,  that  con- 
stricts and  dwarfs  character,  must  make  for  entire  unselfishness: 
the  larger  life  is  not  to  be  attained  by  him  who  strives  for  it  with 
selfish  or  covetous  motives.  Yet  even  when  the  neophyte  imagines 
that  he  has  killed  out  this  tendency  to  look  for  a  reward  for  right- 
conduct,  it  springs  to  life  in  subtler  form,  and  on  closer  introspec- 
tion he  finds  that  he  has  unconsciously  been  entertaining  the  hope 
of  a  spiritual  recompense. 

The  earthly  house  is,  of  course,  the  physical  body,  and  the  celes- 
tial one  the  "solar  body,"  which  is  undying;  but,  as  allotted  to  the 
twelve  companions  of  the  Sun-God,  the  twelve  celestial  houses  are 
the  twelve  divisions  of  the  starry  heavens  which  in  conventional 
astrology  are  formed  by  drawing  great  circles  through  the  north 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  79 

and  south  poles  of  the  horizon,  in  the  same  way  that  meridians  pass 
through  the  terrestrial  poles. 

The  saying  in  Matthczi'  v.  14,  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world," 
applied  to  the  disciples,  is  misleading;  the  true  light  is  lesous,  the 
Xous,  though  the  disciples  are,  as  it  were,  rays  diverging  from  that 
light.  The  mystic  "eye"  of  the  seer,  as  the  organ  of  spiritual  per- 
ception, is  the  manifesting  centre  of  the  light.  Whether  a  man  is 
broad  or  narrow  minded  depends  upon  himself;  he  sets  his  own 
limitations  in  the  search  for  truth.  He  who  has  intuitive  wisdom 
continues  to  receive  it  in  larger  measure ;  but  he  who  has  it  not  must 
forsake  false  learning,  must  part  with  the  illusory  knowledge  which 
he  mistakes  for  wisdom,  before  he  can  receive  the  elementary  teach- 
ings of  the  sacred  science. 

The  Thirty-six  Hermaic  Couples  .^re  Chosen  and  Sent 
Forth  — the  Paranatellons 

[Lk.  X.  I  ;  vi.  13:  x.  i.  2.     Mk.  vi.  8.  9.     Lk.  x.  4-1 1.     Matt.  x.  16.    Lk.  ix.  6] 

The  Master  ne.xt  appointed  seventy-two  other  disciples,  whom  he 
named  "Messengers  of  Love" ;  and  he  sent  them  two  by  two  before 
his  face  to  every  city  and  place  where  he  himself  was  about  to  come. 
To  them  he  said  : 

"Heavy  is  the  crop  to  be  harvested,  but  the  reapers  are  few. 
Therefore  implore  the  Goddess  of  Tillage  to  send  reapers  to  the 
harvest.  For  your  journey  take  nothing  save  a  wand  and  a  purse; 
go  shod  with  sandals,  wear  only  one  tunic,  and  delay  not  to  talk 
with  loafers  on  the  way.  In  whatever  house  you  shall  first  enter 
say,  'Peace  to  this  house!'  If  a  lover  of  peace  be  there,  on  that 
house  your  peace  will  rest;  but  if  not.  it  will  return  to  you.  Abide 
in  that  same  house,  and  pay  your  host  from  your  well-filled  purse : 
go  not  from  house  to  house  as  do  religious  mendicants.  And  in 
whatever  city  you  may  enter,  and  its  inhabitants  honor  you,  accept 
their  hospitality,  and  with  your  magic  wand  heal  the  sick  in  that 
city,  and  say  to  the  citizens,  'The  King  of  the  starry  spaces  has 
drawn  near  to  you.'  But  in  whatever  city  you  may  enter,  and  its 
citizens  do  not  extend  you  hospitality,  go  out  into  its  streets  and 
say,  'Even  the  dust  from  your  city  which  has  adhered  to  our  feet 


8o 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


we  wipe  off  against  you;  l)ut  know  this,  that  the  King  of  the  starry 
spaces  has  drawn  near.'  Go,  now,  bearing  my  message.  Behold, 
I  am  sending  you  forth  as  sheep  in  tlie  midst  of  wolves:  therefore 
be  ye  as  crafty  as  the  serpents  oi  Hermes  and  as  unvenomed  as 

the  doves  of 
Aphrodite." 
And    the 
paired     im- 
personators 
of    Hermes 
and  Aphro- 
dite departed,  and  passed 
through  the  cities,  bear- 
ing the   message  of  his 
coming;  and  everywhere 
they  sought  reapers  for 
the  harvest,  and  strengthened 
the  weak  and  healed  the  sick. 

COMMENT.\KV 

In    the    historicized    text    the    twelve 
companions  and  the  seventy-two  messen- 
gers   have    been    intentionally   confused. 
The  twelve  are  wrongly  called  "apostles." 
An  apostolos  is  simply  a  messenger,  "one 
who  is  sent  forth."     Now,  the  twelve  dis- 
ciples, as  regents  of  the  zodiacal  signs,  may 
be  said  to  accompany  the  Sun-God,  while 
the  seventy-two  disciples,  as  regents  of  the 
Hermes  paranatellons.  are  very  properly  called  mes- 

sengers, as  they  go  out  into  the  extra-zodi- 
acal spaces.  Each  decanate,  or  third  part  of  a  zodiacal  sign,  contain- 
ing ten  degrees,  has  a  corresponding  constellation  reduplicating  the 
sign;  thus  there  are  thirty-six  of  these  paranatellons,  each  of  them 
related  to  ten  degrees  of  the  zodiac.  In  the  allegory  these  thirty- 
six  constellations  symbolize  the  differentiated  noetic  powers,  and 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  8i 

as  the  latter  liave  both  positive  and  negative  aspects,  the  personified 
forces  are  enumerated  as  seventy-two  disciples  who  are  sent  out  as 
male-female  pairs.  Each  of  these  couples  consists  of  a  Hermes  and 
an  Aphrodite,  being  thus  a  potency  of  conjoined  Thought  and  Love. 
Hermes,  the  interpreter  and  messenger  of  the  Gods,  bore  a  serpent- 
twined  wand  and  a  purse,  and  was  clad  in  a  light  tunic  and  shod 
with  winged  sandals.  The  serpent  was  sacred  to  him,  and  the  dove 
was  sacred  to  Aphrodite.  In  the  falsified  text  the  messengers  are 
told,  in  Matthczv  and  Mark,  to  take  no  money  in  their  purses,  and, 
in  Luke,  to  carry  no  purse:  they  are  to  eat  what  is  offered  them, 
without  paying  for  it.  but  are  to  heal  the  sick.  The  favorite  maxim 
of  parasitic  priests  is  quoted,  "The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire"  — 
or,  as  it  is  given  in  Matthczv,  "his  food."  But  these  messengers  are 
sent  out  to  employ  reapers  for  the  harvest-field,  and  are  not  re- 
ligious mendicants :  they  carry  a  purse  from  which  to  pav  their 
travelling  expenses,  and  a  wand  (caduceus)  with  which  to  heal  the 
sick.  Mystically  they  are  the  loving  thoughts  of  the  Sun-God  sent 
out  into  all  the  stellar  spaces  to  herald  the  coming  of  the  King: 
that  is.  the  divine  influences  of  the  Xous  pervade  even  the  remotest 
recesses  of  the  pure  man's  being,  everywhere  healing  with  the  touch 
of  love  and  inspiring  to  wisdom  with  the  golden  wand  of  intuition. 

2.     lesous  and  the  Twelve  Take  an  Outing — The 
Midsummer  Peace  of  the  Soul 

The  Loaves  and  I'ishes  Multiplied  — Tlie  Planetary  Influences 
Distributed  among  the  Stellar  Spaces 

[Mk.  vi.  30-34.    Lk.  ix.  12.    Matt.  xiv.  16.    Lk.  ix.  13,  14.     Mk.  vi.  39,  40. 

Lk.  ix.  15-17] 

But  the  twelve  companions  of  lesous  clubbed  together  for  an  out- 
ing, and  he  said  to  them  : 

"Let  us  go  off  by  ourselves  to  a  lonely  spot  and  recruit  our 
strength  a  little." 

So  they  went  away  by  themselves  in  the  ship  to  a  secluded  spot. 
But  the  crowds  saw  them  going,  and  hurried  to  the  place  afoot  and 
thronged  about  lesous.    His  heart  went  out  to  the  untaught  rabble, 


82  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

who  are  oppressed  and  downtrodden  by  the  rich  and  powerful,  even 
as  sheep  are  scattered  and  torn  by  \v(jlves,  and  he  welcomed  them 
and  taught  them  many  noble  truths.  And  when  the  day  was  draw- 
ing to  its  close,  the  twelve  disciples  came  to  him  and  said : 

"Dismiss  the  crowd,  that  they  may  go  to  the  surrounding  vil- 
lages and  country,  and  buy  tliemsclvcs  food  ;  for  we  are  here  in  a 
desert  place." 

But  he  said  to  them  : 

"They  need  not  go;  you  should  give  them  something  to  cat." 

They  answered  him : 

"Five  loaves  and  two  fishes  are  all  that  we  have;  and  there  are 
forty-nine  hundred  peojjje  here." 

Said  he  to  the  companions : 

"Arrange  for  them  to  recline  on  the  greensward  in  forty-nine 
groups  of  a  hundred  each." 

They  did  so,  and  had  them  all  recline  on  the  tender  greensward, 
in  mess-parties,  and  in  their  bright-colored  garments  they  looked 
like  flower-beds  in  a  garden.  Then  lesous  took  the  five  loaves  and 
the  two  fishes,  and  letting  his  gaze  circle  the  celestial  vault,  he  in- 
voked the  blessing  of  the  seven  planetary  Gods  upon  them,  and 
broke  them  in  fragments,  which  he  gave  to  the  twelve  companions 
to  set  before  the  multitude.  They  ate,  and  all  had  their  fill ;  and  the 
left-over  fragments  which  were  gathered  up  filled  twelve  baskets. 

C0MMENT.\RY 

The  five  loaves  symbolize  the  five  male  planets,  and  the  two  fishes 
the  two  female  ones,  Venus  and  the  Moon,  or  Aphrodite  and  Selene. 
The  planetary  influences  permeate  all  the  celestial  spaces  occupied 
by  the  forty-nine  constellations,  besides  filling  their  own  especial 
domiciles,  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs.  A  particular  planet  governs 
each  sign ;  but  every  sign  contains  twelve  minor  signs,  which  again 
are  allotted  to  the  seven  planets. 

In  relating  the  planets  to  the  signs  the  system  begins  with  Can- 
cer, at  the  summer  solstice.  Cancer  and  Leo.  the  two  signs  nearest 
to  the  solar  position  at  midsummer,  are  assigned  respectively  to  the 
Sun  and  the  ]\Ioon ;  the  two  next  highest  signs  are  made  the  domi- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  83 

cile  of  Mercury,  the  planet  nearest  to  the  Snn.  and  so  on,  Saturn, 
the  last  and  farthest  planet,  being  allotted  to  Capricornus  and  Aqua- 
rius, the  two  signs  polar  to  Cancer  and  Leo.  The  "desert  place" 
where  lesous  multiplies  the  loaves  and  fishes  is  therefore  Cancer, 
which  was  anciently  called  "the  dark  constellation."  as  it  contains 
no  brilliant  stars.  It  is  the  great  northern  "gate" ;  here  Joannes  lus- 
trated  the  candidates  who  personified  the  forces  of  the  four  somatic 
divisions,  and  here  lesous  started  on  his  first  circuit  of  the  zodiac. 
The  second  circuit  is  also  begun  at  this  point :  the  multiplication  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  has  the  same  meaning,  though  applied  to  a 
higher  plane,  as  the  lustral  rite  of  Idanncs.  The  "desert"  of  the 
temptation  of  lesous.  however,  is  not  Cancer  but  Scorpio,  which  is 
likewise  a  "dark"  sign,  though  containing  the  conspicuous  red  star 
Antares  ("equal  to  Ares")  :  and  as  Antares  is  considered  an  "evil" 
star,  it  may  well  be  associated  with  the  "ancient  Serpent"  (Drakon) 
and  the  "Wild-beast"  (Therion).  the  paranatellons  of  Scorpio. 

The  Sevent\-two  Messengers  Return  Exulting— The  Downfall 
of  the  Serpent 

[Lk.  X.  17-20I 

The  seventy-two  impersonators  of  Hermes  and  Aphrodite  re- 
turned with  joy,  saying: 

"Master,  even  the  good  genii  are  subject  to  us  in  your  name!" 

Said  he  to  them  : 

"I  beheld  the  Evil  Genius,  the  archaic  Snake,  with  all  his  hateful 
brood,  falling  from  the  sky  and  by  the  lightning  lashed  :  thus  hurled 
from  heaven,  he  now  prowls  on  earth.  But  you  he  can  not  harm; 
for  I  have  given  you  power  to  con(iuer  him  and  to  destroy  the  scor- 
pions of  desire.  Nevertheless,  do  not  rejoice  merely  because  the 
good  genii,  the  Demigods,  are  subject  to  you ;  but  rejoice  because 
your  mystic  names  are  written  in  the  starry  spaces." 

COMMENTARY 

The  expulsion  of  the  serpent  by  the  seventy-two,  in  this  second 
act  of  the  drama,  parallels  the  triumph  over  the  serpent  in  the  first 
act,  when  lesous  was  tempted  in  the  desert.     In  the  second  conquest 


84  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

in  the  Apocalypse  Michael  (Hermes)  Hkewise  hurls  the  ancient 
serpent  from  the  sky.  The  mystic  Guide  in  the  Apocalypse  is 
Hermes.  His  "rod"  (caduceus)  signifies  the  triple  serpent-fire. 
The  vine-wrapped  narthcx  of  Dionysos,  with  its  pine-cone  (a  symbol 
of  the  conarium,  the  "third  eye"),  has  the  same  meaning. 

The  "names"  which  "are  written  in  the  skies"  are  those  of  the 
thirty-six  ancient  extra-zodiacal  constellations,  twenty-one  of  them 
being  in  the  northern  hemisphere  and  fifteen  in  the  southern. 

3.     lesous  Explains  the  Conditions  of  Discipleship — 
the  Necessary  Qualifications 

The  Neophyte's  True  Home  Is  Not  on  Earth 
[Matt.  viii.  19,  20] 

Came  a  lone  man  of  learning  and  said  to  him : 
"Teacher,  wherever  you  go  I  shall  follow  you." 
Said  lesous  to  him  : 

"The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  sky  have  nests;  but 
no  place  to  lay  his  head  has  the  Son  of  the  Heavenly  Man." 

COMMENTARY 

Fortunate  is  the  man  who  has  a  well-disciplined  mind,  amply 
stored  with  wholesome  ideas  and  useful  knowledge.  But  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  arbitrary  systems  of  education,  based  on  in- 
adequate or  erroneous  conceptions  of  what  constitutes  knowledge, 
lead  almost  inevitably  to  the  disproportionate  development  of  the 
lower  intellectual  faculties,  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  loftier  powers  of 
intuition,  independent  analytic  and  synthetic  thought,  philosophic 
reason  and  creative  imagination.  If  mere  learning  is  mistaken  for 
wisdom,  the  mind  is  made  a  storehouse  of  unrelated  facts,  incom- 
patible theories  and  useless  intellectual  curios.  Indeed,  the  exclu- 
sive cultivation  of  the  brain-consciousness,  when  carried  to  the  ex- 
treme, results  in  the  extinction  of  all  the  nobler  faculties  of  the  soul 
and  the  utter  loss  of  the  power  of  spiritual  cognition.  The  ranks 
of  the  few  real  aspirants  for  wisdom  are  recruited  more  from  the 
uncultured  but  normally  right-minded  people  than  from  the  abnor- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  85 

mally  cultured  conventional  scholars.  The  "lone  man  of  learning" 
who  offers  himself  as  a  disciple  stands  out  conspicuously  among 
the  many  followers  coming  from  the  lowlier  classes.  The  condition 
of  discipleship  laid  down  for  him  is  that  he  must  abandon  all  the 
comfortable  homes  of  thought,  that  is.  all  crystallized  creeds,  for- 
mal systems  of  knowledge  and  fixed  schools  of  philosophy;  for  the 
true  disciple  must  become  intellectually  a  w^orld- wanderer,  who  calls 
no  place  his  home  until  he  reaches  Wisdom's  eternal  habitation. 

The  Neophyte  Must  Renounce  All  Earthly  Ties  and 
Entertain  No  Lingering  Regrets 

[Matt.  viii.  21,  22.     Lk.  ix.  61,  62;  xiv.  26.     Matt.  x.  34.    Lk.  x.  51. 
Matt.  X.  35-37-    Lk.  ix.  23,  24] 

Another  would-be  disciple  also  said  to  him : 

"Master,  give  me  leave  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father." 

But  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Follow  me,  and  leave  'the  dead'  to  bury  their  own  dead." 

Said  also  another : 

"I  shall  follow  you,  Master;  but  give  me  leave  first  to  bid  fare- 
well to  the  folks  at  my  home." 

But  lesous  said  to  him : 

"No  one  who,  having  laid  his  hand  on  the  plow,  keeps  looking 
at  the  things  that  are  behind,  is  qualified  for  the  realm  of  the  starry 
spaces.  If  any  one  comes  to  me  and  yet  cares  less  for  me  than  he 
does  for  his  father,  mother,  wife,  children,  brothers  and  sisters,  yea, 
his  own  psychic  self  even,  my  disciple  he  can  not  be.  Think  not 
that  I  have  come  to  sow  peace  on  the  earth ;  I  have  come  to  sow% 
not  peace,  but  dissension.  For  I  have  come  to  sever  the  mortal 
from  the  immortal ;  and  ties  of  family  bind  man  to  earth.  Unwor- 
thy of  me  is  he  who  loves  father  and  mother  more  than  me.  Un- 
worthy of  me  is  he  who  loves  son  or  daughter  more  than  me.  If 
any  man  would  be  my  disciple,  let  him  renounce  his  lower  self,  and 
day  by  day  sustain  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  longs 
to  save  his  psychic  life  shall  lose  it  in  the  gloom  of  Erebos;  but 
whosoever  shall  lose  his  psychic  self  for  my  sake  shall  find  it  in 
the  World  of  Light. 


86  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Those  who  are  concerned  wholly  with  the  things  of  the  material 
life,  their  consciousness  not  extending  to  the  higher  realm,  are 
termed  "the  dead."  He  who  would  attain  the  immortal  life  must 
extinguish  all  desire  for  the  mortal :  he  can  not  become  deathless 
while  he  retains  in  himself  the  efficient  cause  of  death  and  birth  — 
the  psychic  longing  for  carnal  existence.  He  must  forsake  the 
generative  sphere  if  he  would  become  a  dweller  in  the  divine  world. 
But  this  does  not  mean  that  he  is  to  desert  humanity,  or  cease  to 
love  those  who  in  the  cycle  of  generation  have  been  closely  related 
to  him ;  on  the  contrary,  his  love  must  expand  to  utter  unselfishness 
until  he  includes  all  sentient  beings  in  his  broad  compassion. 

The  word  xjivxVy  hci"c  rendered  "psychic  life,"  has  no  exact  equiv- 
alent in  English.  Its  range  of  meanings  includes  the  entire  psychic 
nature,  namely,  the  psychic  body  with  its  organs  of  sensation  and 
action,  the  vital  forces,  the  animal  instincts,  and  the  lower  mental 
faculties.  Intermediate  between  the  material  nature  and  the  spir- 
itual, it  participates  in  both  the  mortal  and  the  immortal.  In  it  is 
centred  the  evanescent  personal  self,  or  egoity,  which  is  a  reflection, 
so  to  say,  of  the  true  Ego,  the  Nous.  If  in  its  nobler  aspect  it  is 
merged  or  "lost"  in  the  noetic  selfhood  it  is  preserved;  but  if  by  the 
constricting  quality  of  selfishness  it  becomes  detached  from  the 
higher  consciousness  and  isolated  as  a  sort  of  spurious  individuality 
it  becomes  wholly  mortal  and  must  eventually  perish. 

The  Neophyte  Should  First  Determine  Whether  He  Is  Prepared 
to  Make  the  Renunciation 

[Lk.  xiv.  28-34.     Matt.  v.  13] 

"Therefore,  first  consider  what  is  required  of  a  disciple.  For 
which  of  you.  designing  to  build  a  castle,  does  not  first  sit  down  and 
make  an  estimate  of  its  cost,  to  find  out  whether  or  not  he  has  funds 
for  completing  it?  Else,  when  he  has  laid  a  foundation  and  is  un- 
able to  finish  the  structure,  all  beholders  should  ridicule  him,  saying, 
'This  man  began  to  build,  but  was  unable  to  finish.'  Or  what  king, 
ere  going  to  engage  another  king  in  war,  does  not  sit  down  first 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  87 

and  take  counsel  whether  he,  with  ten  thousand  warriors,  is  able  to 
meet  the  foe  who  is  coming  against  him  with  twenty  thousand?  If 
not,  he  '11  quite  surely  be  sending  an  embassy  and  suing  for  terms 
of  peace,  while  the  foe  is  yet  in  the  distance.  So,  then,  no  one  of 
you  who  does  not  bid  farewell  to  all  his  possessions,  material  and 
intellectual,  can  be  my  disciple.  Intellectuality,  like  spice,  is  an  ex- 
cellent thing;  but  if  the  spice  has  become  insipid,  with  what  shall  it 
be  flavored?  It  no  longer  serves  any  useful  purpose,  and  is  thrown 
away. 

COMMENTARY 

These  teachings  are  for  those  only  who  are  ready  to  devote  them- 
selves wholly  to  the  sacred  science.  Before  the  disciple  can  place 
his  feet  upon  the  path  that  leads  to  immortality  he  must  cease  to 
desire  the  things  that  belong  to  the  lower  life.  Before  making  the 
renunciation  of  worldly  things,  he  should  be  sure  of  his  motives  and 
of  his  ability  to  tread  the  path  he  wills  to  follow. 

The  passage  concerning  the  "salt"  which,  by  some  reaction  im- 
known  to  chemistry,  has  ''lost  its  savor,"  is  here  freely  paraphrased  : 
"salt"  is  evidently  employed  for  wit  or  intellectual  brilliancy. 

The  Neophyte  Should  Fix  His  Thought  on  the  Highest,  and  Not  Rely  on 
Rules  for  Psychic  Development 

[Matt.  vi.  24,  25.    Lk.  xii.  23.    Matt.  vi.  2^.    Lk.  xii.  26.    Matt.  vi.  28-30,  2)'i\ 

"No  man  can  serve  two  masters  whose  interests  are  opposed :  for 
if  he  is  faithful  to  the  one  he  is  unfaithful  to  the  other.  You  can 
not  serve  Zeus  and  Plouton.  Therefore  I  say  to  you,  Do  not  keep 
your  mind  concentrated  on  the  requirements  of  the  psychic  self,  as 
to  what  food  is  best  for  its  development,  nor  yet  on  the  physical 
body,  with  what  raiment  you  should  clothe  it.  Is  not  purity  of  the 
psychic  self  more  important  than  the  food,  and  cleanliness  of  the 
body  more  important  than  the  fashion  in  which  it  is  clothed  ?  Which 
of  you  can,  by  mental  concentration,  increase  by  a  single  foot  his 
physical  stature?  If,  then,  you  can  not  control  the  smallest  of  the 
life-centres,  why  concentrate  your  mind  on  the  rest?  And  why  let 
the  subject  of  raiment  occupy  your  mind?     Consider  the  lilies  of 


88  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  field,  how  they  grow :  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin ;  but  I 

say  to  you,  The  great  king  himself,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not  arrayed 

like  one  of  these.     But  if  the  All-Father  thus  in  beauty  robes  the 

wild   flowers  that   to-day 

are    fragrant   and   many- 

hued,  and  to-morrow  are 

withered   away,    shall   he 

not  clothe  you  in  fadeless 

robes   of    splendor   when 

you  enter  into  his  eternal 

realm?     Therefore,   seek 

first   the   Father's   realm, 

and  all  these  glories  shall 

be  yours. 

COMMENTARY 


The  compilers  of  the 
Gospels,  being  ignorant 
of  the  esoteric  meanings 
in  the  text,  have  system- 
atically degraded  them 
from  higher  to  lower  lev- 
els, from  the  psychic  and 
spiritual  to  the  merely 
material ;  and,  unfortu- 
nately, their  work  has 
been  carried  still  further 
by  the  orthodox  transla- 
tors. Thus  this  portion 
of  the  discourse  of  lesous 

has  been  made  to  treat  of  the  needs  of  the  physical  body,  food 
and  raiment,  whereas  it  really  refers  to  the  rules  of  asceticism 
laid  down  for  neophytes  who  are  in  the  psychic  stages  of  training. 
Irrelevant  matter  has  also  been  inserted,  as  Matthew  vi.  26:  "Con- 
sider the  birds  of  the  sky,  that  they  do  not  reap,  nor  do  they  gather 


Plouton  Enthroned 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  89 

into  granaries;  and  your  heavenly  Father  feeds  them."  This  is 
stated  far  more  beautifully  in  the  Hitopadesa:  "Be  not  anxious  for 
subsistence :  it  is  provided  by  the  Creator.    When  the  child  is  born 

the  mother's  breasts  flow 
with  milk.  He  who 
clothed  the  birds  with 
their  bright  plumage  will 
also  clothe  you." 

Finding  no  satisfactory 
substitute  for  Ploutdn  in 
the  Hebrew  scriptures, 
the  compilers  evidently 
adopted  Mamonas  from 
some  other  source.  The 
simile  of  the  lilies  has  also 
suffered  from  the  pen  of 
the  forger,  who,  not  con- 
tent with  introducing  the 
m}'thical  King  Solomon, 
has  so  abridged  the  pas- 
sage as  to  make  it  refer 
merely  to  the  clothing  of 
the  physical  body.  Here 
Zeus  is  not  the  Olympian 
Deity  but  the  Supreme 
Spirit ;  and  Plouton  is  the 
"Subterranean  Zeus," 
Zeu?  KaTax06vLO<s,  as  he 
is  called  by  Homer  (Iliad, 
ix.  457),  or  "Stygian  Ju- 
piter," as  Vergil  calls  him  (Aincid,  iv.  638).  The  full  antithesis 
would  be  peculiarly  Greek :  "You  can  not  serve  both  the  Heavenly 
and  the  Subterranean  Zeus."  Who  or  what  "Mamonas"  was  is 
unknown.  A  man  can  not,  while  subject  to  his  elemental  self,  that 
psychic  principle  in  his  nature  that  belongs  to  the  realm  of  Plouton, 


Zeus  Enthroned 


90  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tlie  underworld  God,  be  truly  devoted  to  his  inner  God.  Without 
ceaseless  aspiration  to  reach  his  Heavenly  Self,  all  lesser  purifica- 
tions are  of  no  avail.  The  ascetic  may  abstain  from  eating  flesh  and 
drinking  alcoholic  stimulants,  and  wear  the  orange-yellow  robe  of 
the  oriental  devotee,  but  still  be  morally  unworthy  and  psychically 
impure. 

The  "smallest  of  the  life-centres"  referred  to  is  the  pituitary 
body,  which,  as  modern  physiologists  have  demonstrated,  governs 
the  growth  of  the  physical  body.  It  is  by  concentrating  the  mind 
upon  this  organ  that  the  forces  in  the  brain  are  liberated  and  the 
"single  eye"  opened,  giving  the  inner  sight. 

The  Neophyte  Should  Beware  of  False  Guides,  and  Keep 
to  the  Small  Old  Path 

[Matt.  vii.  15;  XV.  14.    Lk.  vi.  40.    Matt.  vii.  13,  14.    Lk.  xi.  9,  10] 

"Beware  of  pseudo-seers,  who  come  to  you  in  guise  of  lambs,  but 
who  in  their  inner  nature  are  rapacious  wolves.  And  follow  not 
the  exoteric  priests:  blind  leaders  of  the  blind  are  they.  And  if  a 
blind  man  leads  a  blind  man,  the  two  of  them  fall  into  the  ditch. 
The  disciple  is  not  superior  to  his  teacher ;  but  every  one  when  his 
character  is  moulded  will  be  like  his  teacher.  Pursue  the  straitened 
path  that  rises  to  the  golden  gate  at  heaven's  height.  For  the  way 
to  Plouton's  realm  is  broad  and  easy  of  descent,  and  through  his 
great  gate,  which  day  and  night  stands  open,  'the  many'  enter  when 
they  pass  from  earth;  but  the  small  old  path  that  leads  to  life  eter- 
nal goes  steeply  upwards,  and  they  who  reach  its  golden  gate  are 
few.  Ask,  and  the  gift  of  seership  shall  be  yours;  seek,  and  you 
shall  find  the  small  old  path ;  knock,  and  to  you  the  golden  gate  shall 
open.  For  every  pure  disciple  M^ho  keeps  asking  receives  the  holy 
power,  who  keeps  seeking  finds  the  path,  and  who  knocks  has  the 
gate  opened  to  him. 

COMMENTARY 

One  of  the  greatest  dangers  the  aspirant  for  occult  knowledge 
must  guard  against  is  that  of  being  misled  by  the  charlatans  who 
in  every  age  pursue  their  nefarious  propaganda  and  lead  their  dupes 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  91 

to  moral  ruin.  The  neophyte  should  use  the  utmost  caution  until 
he  is  able  to  discriminate  between  the  true  and  the  false.  He  should 
instantly  reject  the  overtures  of  those  who  propose  to  teach  the 
sacred  science  for  pay,  and  stand  aloof  from  all  who  delve  into 
psychical  matters  or  relax  in  the  least  the  uncompromising  morality 
of  the  ancient  teachings.  He  should  seek  for  interior  illumination 
rather  than  for  any  light  that  may  come  from  without. 

The  two  "gates"  are,  mythologically,  the  cloud-gate  of  Olympos 
and  the  great  gate  of  Plouton.  xA-s  Vergil  poetically  says,  the  great 
gate  of  the  King  of  the  Netherworld  is  open  day  and  night,  and 
through  it  pass  the  souls  of  the  dead  after  journeying  down  the 
"easy  descent  to  Avernus"  (Hades),  where  they  are  purified  by 
water,  fire  and  air,  after  which  they  in  due  time  reincarnate  on 
earth,  only  the  few  irretrievably  wicked  souls  being  thrown  into 
Tartaros.  But  according  to  the  falsified  text  of  the  Gospels  the 
many,  the  great  majority  of  mankind,  who  follow  the  broad  road, 
go  thereby  to  "destruction."  The  ancient  teachings  were  based 
upon  the  actual  knowledge  of  initiated  seers ;  but  the  hideous  doc- 
trines woven  into  Christianity  and  other  exoteric  religions  were  fab- 
ricated by  designing  priests  and  morbidly  dogmatic  theologians, 
the  self-appointed  religious  teachers,  who  are,  as  a  class,  not  only 
spiritually  blind  guides,  but  are  also  the  rancorous  opponents  of 
every  truth  that  does  not  fit  in  with  their  fanciful  systems  of  belief 
or  that  tends  to  weaken  their  power  over  the  ignorant  masses. 

The  Neophyte  Should  Obey  the  Divine  Will,  and  Not  Seek  for  Psychic  Powers 
[Matt.  vii.  21-24.     Lk.  vi.  48.     Matt.  vii.  25-27] 

"Not  every  one  who  says  to  me,  'Master,  Master,'  shall  enter  into 
the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces :  he  only  shall  enter  who  does  the  will 
of  the  heavenly  Father.  Many,  seeking  to  enter,  shall  say  to  me, 
'Master,  Master,  by  thy  name  did  we  not  attain  to  seership,  by  thy 
name  cast  out  evil  spirits,  and  by  thy  name  do  many  wondrous 
works  ?'  And  then  I  shall  declare  to  them,  I  know  you  not.  Every 
one,  therefore,  who  hears  these  doctrines  from  me,  and  carries  them 
out  in  practice,  shall  be  likened  to  a  prudent  man  building  a  house. 


92  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

who  excavated  and  deepened,  and  laid  a  foundation  upon  the  rock ; 
and  when  pouring  rain,  swelhng  floods  and  rushing  winds  assailed 
that  house,  it  fell  not,  for  't  was  founded  on  the  rock.  And  every 
one  who  hears  these  doctrines  from  me,  and  puts  them  not  in  prac- 
tice, shall  be  likened  to  a  stupid  man  who  built  his  house  upon  the 
sand ;  and  when  pouring  rain,  swelling  floods  and  rushing  winds 
beat  upon  that  house,  it  fell,  a  total  ruin." 

COMMENTARY 

The  many  who  are  rejected  and  disowned  by  the  spiritual  Self 
are  those  v^'ho  devote  themselves  to  psychic  development,  and  prac- 
tise the  so-called  "occult  arts."  Psychic  vision  is  not  true  seership; 
the  psychic  senses  open  out  upon  a  world  of  illusions.  The  subtile 
elements  of  this  intermediate  nature  are  the  shifting  sands  of  the 
allegory,  the  spiritual  principle  being  the  solid  rock  of  security.  The 
man  who  exploits  the  psychic  regions,  instead  of  conforming  to  the 
will  of  his  inner  God,  his  heavenly  Father,  is  travelling  the  broad 
road  and  not  the  narrow  path.  He  acquires  nothing  that  is  of  last- 
ing value,  and  he  hazards  moral  ruin. 

4.     The  Psychic  Mind  and  the  Intuitional 

The  Expulsion  of  the  Unclean  Spirit  — Safety-  from  Evil  Influences 
Lies  in  Union  with  the  Nous 

[Lk.  xi.  14.    Matt.  xii.  24.    Lk.  xi.  15,  17.     Matt.  xii.  25-28.    Lk.  xi.  21-26] 

lesous  was  casting  out  a  spirit  that  caused  its  victim  to  be  dumb ; 
and  when  the  spirit  was  expelled,  the  erstwhile  dumb  man  talked ; 
and  the  crow^ds  wondered.    But  some  of  the  orthodox  priests  said  : 

"He  is  casting  out  spirits  by  the  power  of  the  Netherworld  God, 
the  King  of  the  spirits." 

But  he,  understanding  their  mental  processes,  said  to  them : 

"Every  realm  divided  against  itself  is  devastated,  and  no  house 
divided  against  itself  can  stand.  If  the  Netherworld  God  is  expell- 
ing his  own  subjects,  he  is  divided  against  himself.  How,  then,  can 
his  realm  endure?  And  if  I  by  the  power  of  Plouton  cast  out  spir- 
its, by  whose  power  do  your  disciples,  the  exorcists,  cast  them  out  ? 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  93 

Your  puerile  incantations  and  exorcisms  are  sufficient  evidence  that 
your  power  does  not  come  from  above.  But  if  I  by  the  supernal 
Air  am  casting  out  spirits,  then  that  heavenly  power  has  taken  you 
by  surprise.  Now,  when  the  stalwart  warrior,  armed  head-to-foot, 
is  guarding  his  own  mansion,  his  belongings  are  in  peace,  unless  one 
more  stalwart  than  he  comes  upon  him  and  conquers  him ;  and  then 
the  marauder  binds  him  and  takes  away  from  him  the  panoply  on 
which  he  relied,  and  having  plundered  his  house  distributes  the 
spoils.  He  who  is  not  with  me  is  against  me ;  and  he  who  does  not 
unite  with  me  dissipates  his  forces.  The  unclean  spirit,  when  driven 
away  from  his  victim  by  a  man  having  authority  over  the  spirits, 
wanders  about  in  rainless  deserts,  seeking  respite  from  his  tor- 
ments ;  and  finding  no  respite,  he  says,  'I  '11  return  to  my  house, 
whence  I  was  driven  out.'  And  having  returned,  he  finds  it  swept 
and  decorated,  and  the  door  left  ajar.  Then  he  goes  out  and  gets 
seven  other  spirits  more  malignant  than  himself,  and  they  enter  in 
and  dwell  there ;  and  that  man  is  then  in  far  worse  plight  than  he 
was  at  first." 

COMMENTARY 

Although  he  frees  the  man  from  the  evil  shade  that  had  taken 
possession  of  him,  lesous  explains,  with  picturesque  imagery,  that 
a  man  is  safe  against  evil  influences  only  when  he  allies  his  forces 
with  those  of  the  Nous,  since  even  purity  of  motive  and  strength  of 
will  are  not  a  sufficient  protection.  When  freed  from  the  possess- 
ing spirit  by  a  man  able  to  deal  with  the  shades  of  the  dead,  the  vic- 
tim, though  purified  temporarily,  may  be  even  more  vulnerable  than 
before. 

The  "Satan,"  or  "Beelzeboul,  archon  of  the  spirits,"  of  the  falsi- 
fied text,  is  but  a  shabby  substitute  for  Plouton,  the  King  of  the 
Shades.  In  this  passage,  as  frequently  elsewhere,  the  word  "power" 
(dynamis)  has  been  stricken  out,  apparently,  leaving  the  curious 
expression  "in  Beelzeboul,"  instead  of  "by  the  power  that  is  in  Be- 
elzeboul."  Sometimes  the  word  "name"  (onoma)  has  been  sub- 
stituted for  dynamis,  as  in  the  phrase  "the  name  of  lesous,"  when 
lesous  is  employing  the  power  of  the  supernal  Air — the  Pneiima. 


94  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

In  Luke  this  incident  and  the  discussion  and  discourse  following 
upon  it  are  given  intact ;  in  Matthczv  it  is  split  into  two  stories,  both 
of  which  are  incomplete  and  badly  told,  while  the  portion  of  the 
discourse  which  treats  of  the  seven  malignant  spirits  is  inserted  in  a 
spurious  passage  concerning  the  sign  of  Jonah  ;  and  the  compiler  of 
Mark,  with  cheerful  irrelevance,  has  omitted  the  story  altogether, 
but  has  inserted  a  fragment  of  its  moral  in  the  discourse  given  after 
the  calling  of  the  twelve  disciples,  where  it  is  ludicrously  out  of 
place  and  conies  in  apropos  of  nothing. 

The  Sign  of  the  Higlicr  Mind  Is  Not  Given  to  Those  Who  Are 
Sexually  Impure 

[Matt.  xii.  38,  39.     Mk.  viii.  11.  12] 

Said  to  him  some  of  the  learned  and  the  orthodox : 

''Teacher,  we  wish  to  see  your  sign  in  the  stellar  regions." 

He  answered  them : 

"The  men  of  this  generative  sphere,  evil  and  sexually  depraved, 
keep  seeking  for  a  sign,  but  my  sign  shall  not  be  revealed  to  them ; 
and  no  sign  shall  be  given  to  you  but  the  constellation  Cetus." 

COMMENTARY 

The  constellation  Cetus,  the  Greek  Kctos,  the  Sea-monster,  is  the 
southern  paranatellon  of  Pisces ;  it  is  the  "Beast"  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, and  symbolizes  the  lower  mind.  In  the  Sept ua gin t  the  ma- 
rine monster  (the  "whale"  of  the  English  version)  which  swallows 
Jonah  is  called  kctos,  and  it  was  this  circumstance,  no  doubt,  that 
led  to  the  interpolation  of  the  passage  which  draws  a  false  analogy 
between  Jonah,  who  spent  three  uncomfortable  days  and  nights  in 
the  belly  of  the  sea-monster,  and  lesous,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
three  days  and  nights  in  "the  heart  of  the  earth."  From  the  Sea- 
monster's  belly  to  the  Earth's  heart  is  a  far  cry;  and  the  story  of 
Jonah's  misadventure  is  irrelevant  in  this  passage. 

The  word  yeved  signifies  primarily  "birth,"  and  means  not  only 
a  "generation"  but  also  an  "age,"  being  applied  in  the  latter  sig- 
nification to  each  of  the  four  ages — of  gold,  silver,  bronze  and  iron 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  95 

— and  thus  covering  the  whole  cycle  of  generation.  In  older  Eng- 
lish the  word  "sign"  was  used  for  any  constellation,  but  it  is  now 
generally  limited  to  a  constellation  or  a  division  of  the  zodiac.  The 
men  of  formal  learning  are  given  the  sign  Cetus,  to  signify  that 
their  consciousness  rises  no  higher  than  the  rational  principle ;  but 
the  sign  of  the  divine  Mind  is  not  given.  Aside  from  the  astro- 
nomical symbolism,  each  degree  of  spiritual  development  is  desig- 
nated by  a  geometrical  figure,  that  of  the  neophyte's  degree  being  a 
triangle. 

lesous  Receives  No  Honor  in  His  Own  City— Spiritual  Intuition  Is  Antagonized 
by  the  Brain-consciousness 

[Matt.  xiii.  54,  55.    Mk.  vi.  3-5.    Matt.  xiii.  56-58] 

lesous  returned  to  his  native  city,  his  companions  going  along 
with  him.  Entering  the  temple,  he  tried  to  teach  the  people  of  his 
native  place ;  consequently  they  were  astonished  and  said : 

"From  what  source  has  this  fellow  derived  this  learning  and 
these  magic  powers?  Is  n't  this  the  son  of  the  carpenter  loseph? 
Is  not  his  mother  named  Mariam  ?  Are  not  these  men  with  him  his 
five  brothers,  lakobos,  loannes,  Sim5n,  Andreas  and  loudas  ?  And 
are  not  his  seven  sisters  also  here  with  him?" 

And  they  took  offence  at  him.     But  lesous  retorted  on  them : 

"Save  in  his  native  city,  and  in  his  own  house,  a  seer  is  not  thus 
dishonored." 

And  because  of  their  incredulity  he  could  not  confer  the  holy 
Power  upon  them. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Carpenter,  the  father  of  lesous,  is  the  Demiurge,  the  World- 
builder;  and  the  Mother  is  the  Arche,  the  great  sea  of  cosmic  and 
divine  substance.  But  this  father  should  not  be  confused  with  the 
heavenly  Father. 

In  incarnated  man  the  "native  city"  of  the  Nous  is  the  brain ; 
but,  owing  to  the  atrophy  of  its  higher  force-centres,  the  brain  is 
now  the  seat  of  the  lower  intellectual  and  psychical  faculties,  which 
are  antagonistic  to  the  spiritual  mind. 


96  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

5.     The  Coming  of  the  Spiritual  Consciousness — The 
Allegories  of  the  Starry  Realm 

lesous  Likens  the  Realm's  Beginning  to  the  Germinating  Seed  and 
Productive  Plant — the  Allegory  of  the  Sower 

[Matt.  xiii.  1-3.     Mk.  iv.  30-32.     Matt.  xii.  32.     Mk.  iv.  26,  27.     Matt.  xiii.  3-8] 

On  that  day  lesous  went  out  of  the  temple  and  sat  by  the  seaside. 
And  a  large  crowd  gathered  about  him ;  so  he  entered  the  ship  and 
was  seated,  while  the  throng  of  people  all  stood  on  the  beach.  Then 
he  told  them  many  allegories  of  the  divine  realm,  saying: 

"How  shall  we  liken  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces,  and  by  what 
allegory  shall  we  illustrate  it?  But  nay;  that  realm  itself  is  too 
great  for  any  similitude.  Yet  small,  very  small,  is  its  beginning: 
't  is  like  a  tiny  mustard-seed,  which  is  among  the  smallest  of  all  the 
seeds  sown  on  the  earth ;  yet  when  't  is  sown,  it  shoots  up  and  be- 
comes the  biggest  of  all  the  herbs,  so  that  the  feathered  songsters 
come  and  perch  on  its  sturdy  little  branches.  Thus  the  seed,  by  its 
germination  and  productivity,  affords  a  similitude  of  the  dawning 
of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces:  't  is  as  if  a  man  should  sow  seed 
in  the  ground,  and  while  he  is  awake  by  day  and  asleep  by  night  the 
seed  germinates  and  grows  up,  he  knows  not  how.  Behold,  the 
sower  went  forth  to  sow,  and  as  he  sowed,  some  of  the  seeds  fell 
by  the  roadside,  and  the  birds  came  and  ate  them  up ;  and  others 
fell  on  the  stony  places,  where  they  had  scant  earth,  and  sprouted 
soon  from  not  being  deep  enough  in  the  soil,  and  when  the  sun  rose 
they  wilted,  and  because  they  were  shallow-rooted  they  withered 
away ;  and  others  fell  among  prickly  weeds,  and  the  weeds  grew  up 
and  choked  them;  and  others  fell  upon  good  soil  and  yielded  fruit 
— one  seed  producing  thirty,  another  sixty  and  another  a  hundred- 
fold. 

COMMENTARY 

Throned  in  the  celestial  Ship,  and  speaking  to  those  who  stand 
upon  the  shore  of  the  mystic  Sea  of  Knowledge,  the  Teacher  illus- 
trates, with  seven  superb  similitudes,  the  faint,  almost  imperceptible 
beginning  and  later  growth  of  that  spiritual  cognition  which  in  its 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  97 

ultimate  expansion  extends  throughout  all  worlds  and  passes  be- 
yond the  limitations  of  space  and  time. 

The  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  the  limitless,  sky-like  expanse 
of  man's  subjective  consciousness.  Into  the  soil  of  his  mental  na- 
ture may  come,  like  a  tiny  seed,  an  almost  indiscernible  intuition, 
germinating  and  growing,  with  no  conscious  effort  of  thought,  and 
yielding  rich  returns  of  wisdom  when  it  has  fallen  on  mental  soil 
that  is  fertile  and  deep.  The  Sower  of  such  seeds  is  the  Nous;  the 
birds,  the  winged  creatures  of  the  lower  atmosphere,  are  the  mental 
faculties,  which  absorb  and  destroy  the  intuitions  that  touch  upon 
the  formulated  system  of  thought,  the  travelled  road ;  the  stony 
places,  scant  of  soil,  are  the  more  superficial  religious  beliefs  and 
aspirations,  in  which  the  intuitions  are  nourished  for  a  time  but 
fade  away  with  the  rising  of  the  ardent  sun  of  the  new  life;  and  the 
weeds  are  the  sensuous  and  emotional  elements  of  the  mind.  Thus 
the  mind  in  its  three  lower  phases  proves  to  be  infertile  or  unpro- 
ductive; but  the  fourth  phase,  that  of  philosophic  reason,  is  the  good 
soil  in  which  the  seeds  of  intuition  become  reproductive. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Worthless  Weeds 
[Matt.  xiii.  24-30] 

"The  Hierophant  of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  has  been  lik- 
ened to  a  farmer  who  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field ;  but  while  men 
slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  darnel  among  the  wheat,  and  w^ent 
away.  And  when  the  blade  had  sprung  up  and  headed  out,  then  the 
darnel  also  appeared.  Came  the  servants  of  the  house-lord  and  said 
to  him : 

"  'Master,  did  you  not  sow  clean  seed  in  your  field  ?  From  what 
source,  then,  has  it  become  foul  with  darnel  ?' 

"He  said  to  them  : 

"  *A  crafty  enemy  has  done  this !' 

"The  servants  asked  him : 

"  'Then  do  you  desire  that  we  should  go  and  weed  them  out  ?' 

"But  he  replied : 

"  'No ;  lest  in  weeding  out  the  darnel  you  should  uproot  the  wheat 


98  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

with  it.  Together  let  them  both  grow  until  the  harvest ;  and  at  the 
season  of  the  harvest  I  shall  say  to  the  harvestmen,  Pluck  up  first 
the  darnel  and  bind  it  into  bundles  to  burn  it,  but  gather  the  wheat 
into  my  granary.' 

COMMENTARY 

The  enemy  of  spirituality  is  the  psychic  self,  man's  evil  genius. 
It  is  often  impossible  for  the  neophyte  to  distinguish  the  pure  noetic 
impulses  and  intuitions  from  the  psychic  impressions  and  notions 
that  closely  resemble  them  when  they  first  germinate  in  the  mind; 
but  when  both  become  distinctly  formulated  as  ideas,  those  which 
are  of  psychic  origin  and  are  therefore  spurious  are  easily  recognized 
as  such  and  can  be  repudiated  without  risk  of  rejecting  the  valid 
intuitions.  The  darnel  ("tares"),  or  rye-grass,  resembles  wheat;  it 
was  supposed  to  induce  intoxication. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Buried  Treasure 
[Matt.  xiii.  44] 

"The  arcane  doctrine  of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  like  a 
buried  treasure  in  a  field,  which  a  man  discovered  and  left  buried ; 
and,  rejoicing  over  his  find,  he  goes  and  sells  all  that  he  has.  and 
buys  that  field. 

COMMENTARY 

The  buried  treasure  is  the  Gnosis,  the  sacred  science  of  the  Mys- 
teries. He  who  becomes  convinced  of  the  existence  of  this  system 
of  esoteric  knowledge,  and  desires  to  possess  it,  must  indeed  part 
with  "all  that  he  has"  before  he  can  own  the  field  of  consciousness 
in  which  the  higher  knowledge  is  hidden. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Precious  Pearl 
[Matt.  xiii.  45] 

"The  seeker  for  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  like  a  merchant 
who  travelled  far,  searching  for  beautiful  pearls;  and  having  found 
one  very  precious  pearl,  he  went  and  sold  all  his  possessions  and 
bought  it. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  99 

COMMENTARY 

In  this  beautiful  little  allegory  the  travelling  trader  (emporos) 
represents  the  searcher  for  wisdom  :  the  pearls  he  seeks  are  the  pearls 
of  truth,  and  the  wondrous  pearl  that  he  finds  is  the  one  great  Truth, 
that  spiritual  Self  who  is  verily  the  perfect  Way,  the  primal  Truth, 
and  the  eternal  Life. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Dragnet 
[Matt.  xiii.  47,  48,  52] 

"The  reminiscence  of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  like  a  drag- 
net which  was  cast  into  the  sea  and  enmeshed  fish  of  every  kind, 
and  which,  when  't  was  filled,  the  fishermen  hauled  up  on  the  beach ; 
and  they  sat  down  and  sorted  the  edible  ones  into  baskets,  but  the 
worthless  ones  they  threw  away.  Therefore  every  man  of  learning 
who  has  become  a  disciple  to  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  like 
a  house-lord  who  from  his  rich  accumulation  produces  treasures 
new  and  old. 

COMMENTARY 

It  is  one  of  the  cardinal  tenets  of  the  ancient  philosophy  that  the 
immortal  spirit  of  man  possesses  all  knowledge ;  and  that,  therefore, 
as  said  by  Plato  {Phaidon,  p.  76),  "our  knowledge  is  recollection," 
The  faculty  of  recalling  the  knowledge  stored  up  in  the  eternal 
memory  of  man  is  in  the  allegory  likened  to  a  dragnet.  The  reason- 
ing faculties  sort  out,  arrange  and  formulate  the  knowledge  ac- 
quired. Here  the  neophyte  with  disciplined  mind  and  wide  range 
of  information  has  a  great  advantage  over  those  who  are  less  cul- 
tured. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Ten  Bridesmaids 
[Matt.  XXV.  1-12] 

"The  powers  that  await  the  coming  of  the  realm  of  the  starry 
spaces  have  been  likened  to  ten  bridesmaids  who  took  their  torches 
and  went  forth  to  meet  the  bridegroom.  Five  of  these  maidens 
were  heedless,  and  five  were  thoughtful.     For  the  foolish  maidens. 


100  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

when  they  took  their  torches,  neglected  to  provide  oil  with  which 
to  make  their  torches  burn  brightly;  but  the  prudent  maidens  took 
cruets  of  oil  with  their  torches.  Now,  the  bridegroom  delayed  com- 
ing, and  the  maidens  all  became  drowsy  and  fell  asleep.  But  at  mid- 
night arose  a  cry : 

"  'Behold,  the  bridegroom !    Go  forth  to  meet  him.' 

"Then  all  those  maidens  awoke,  and  the  prudent  ones  oiled  their 
torches  and  lighted  them.  And  the  foolish  maidens  said  to  the 
sober-minded : 

"  'Give  us  some  of  your  oil ;  for  our  torches  give  no  light.' 

"But  the  prudent  maidens  replied : 

"  'Oh,  no !  There  was  only  enough  for  our  torches.  Better  go  to 
the  dealers,  and  buy  some  for  yourselves.' 

"But  when  the  heedless  ones  had  gone  away  to  buy  the  oil,  came 
the  bridegroom,  and  with  him  to  the  wedding- feast  went  the  maid- 
ens who  were  ready ;  and  the  door  was  shut.  Afterwards  came  also 
the  other  maidens,  saying : 

"  'Master,  Master,  open  the  door  to  us.' 

"But  he  answered : 

"  'No;  for  I  know  you  not.' 

COMMENTARY 

The  bridegroom  is  the  Nous  and  the  ten  maidens  are  manifesting 
centres  of  the  five  higher  and  five  lower  intellectual  faculties,  which 
are  represented  by  the  torches.  The  word  Xa/xTra?  properly  sig- 
nifies a  torch,  or  flambeau;  the  rendering  "lamp"  is  extremely 
doubtful.  It  was  a  common  custom  of  the  Greeks  to  have  the  bride 
and  the  bridegroom  met  by  a  band  of  torch-bearers.  The  allegory 
is  obviously  Hellenic. 

The  Allegory  of  the  Wedding-feast 
[Matt.  xxii.  2-13] 

"The  Immortal  King  of  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  has  been 
likened  to  a  mortal  king  who  prepared  a  feast  in  celebration  of  his 
son's  wedding,  and  sent  his  servants  to  summon  the  invited  guests; 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  loi 

and  the  guests  would  not  come.  Then  he  sent  other  servants,  to 
whom  he  said : 

"  'To  those  who  are  invited  convey  this  message :  Behold,  I  have 
made  preparations  for  the  feast;  my  oxen  and  my  fatlings  are 
killed,  and  everything  is  ready:  come  to  the  wedding- feast.' 

"But  they  slighted  the  invitation,  and  went  away,  some  departing 
to  their  estates  in  the  country,  and  others  going  on  voyages  for 
traffic;  and  those  who  stayed  laid  hold  of  his  servants,  maltreated 
them,  and  killed  them.  Then  was  the  king  enraged;  and  he  sent 
companies  of  soldiers,  and  put  to  death  those  murderers,  and  gave 
their  city  to  the  flames.    Said  he  then  to  his  servants : 

"  'The  wedding-feast  is  ready;  but  unworthy  were  they  who  were 
invited.  Go,  therefore,  to  the  places  where  three  ways  meet,  and 
invite  to  the  feast  ever3'body  you  may  find ;  and  provide  each  one 
of  them  with  a  wedding-garment.' 

"To  the  places  where  three  roads  meet  went  those  servants,  and 
brought  in  all  the  wretched  ones  who  had  gathered  at  those  places 
to  eat  the  food  offered  up  to  Hekate ;  and  with  these  poor  folks  as 
guests,  the  wedding  was  thronged.  But  when  the  king  entered 
to  behold  them  as  they  reclined  at  table,  he  observed  there  a  man 
who  was  not  wearing  a  wedding-garment,  and  to  him  he  said : 

"  'Friend,  how  came  you  in  here  without  a  wedding-garment  ?' 

"That  graceless  guest  was  too  abashed  to  speak.  Said  then  the 
king  to  the  servants : 

"  'Take  him  and  cast  him  out  of  the  banquet-hall,  and  let  him  go 
back  and  dine  upon  the  unclean  offerings  made  to  Hekate.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

Mystically,  that  which  is  spiritual  or  subjective  is  considered 
masculine,  and  that  which  is  material  or  objective,  feminine;  the 
marriage  or  conjoining  of  the  two  may  therefore  have  various  mean- 
ings. Here  the  Nous,  the  intuitive  mind,  is  wedded  to  the  forma- 
tive mind,  the  matrix  of  defined  or  formulated  ideas.  The  invited 
guests  who  refuse  to  attend  the  celebration  of  the  wedding  are  the 
conventional,  stereotyped  notions  and  beliefs  of  exoteric  philoso- 
phies and  religions ;  these  have  the  brain-consciousness  as  their  city. 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


and  many  of  them  are  the  murderers  of  intuitions  which  come  as 
messengers  from  the  spiritual  Self.     The  outcasts  gathered  at  the 

cross-roads,  "the  places 
where  three  ways 
meet,"  are  the  philo- 
sophic tenets  and  eso- 
teric reminiscences  that 
are  denied  a  respectable 
standing  in  formal  cults 
of  learning  and  so- 
called  "orthodox"  sys- 
tems of  belief.  These 
guests,  however,  must 
each  don  a  wedding- 
garment,  that  is,  con- 
form to  truth  and  rea- 
son ;  the  guest  who  fails 
in  this  respect  repre- 
sents the  element  of 
vulgar  superstition. 
For,  while  much  that  is 
regarded  as  supersti- 
tion has  a  real  basis  in 
ancient  traditions  of 
the  sacred  science,  some 
of  it  is  the  offspring  of 
ignorance,  and  is  erro- 
neous and  irrational. 
The  awkward  phrase  in  the  mutilated  text,  "the  roads  passing 
out  through  the  roads,"  which  the  revisers  construe  as  "the  partings 
of  the  highways,"  is  evidently  a  substitute  for  T/)to8o?,  "a  meeting 
of  three  roads."  At  such  triple  crossings  Hekate,  as  Goddess  of 
Purifications,  was  worshipped,  wherefore  she  was  termed  Trioditis. 
On  the  thirtieth  of  each  month  the  food  used  in  the  house-purifying 
rites  was  deposited  at  the  cross-roads,  where  the  very  poor,  includ- 


Hekate 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  103 

ing  followers  of  the  cynical  philosophy,  gathered  to  eat  "Ilekate's 
dinner"  ('Ekcitt^s  Selnvov)  ',  and  these  "cross-roads  loafers"  would 
furnish  the  wedding- feast  with  guests  appropriate  to  the  allegory. 
But  the  word  triodos  was  too  reminiscent  of  a  pagan  Greek  custom 
to  be  retained  in  a  Jewish  "history" ;  and  the  "historian"  had  to 
strike  out  everything  relating  to  Hekate's  dinner,  which  is  con- 
trasted with  the  king's  feast,  although  by  doing  so  he  destroyed  the 
artistic  beauty  of  the  allegory  and  deprived  it  of  its  point. 

The  Three-road  Goddess  (called  Hecate  Trivia  by  the  Romans) 
was  depicted  as  triform,  because  she  represented  Artemis  on  earth, 
Selene  in  the  heavens,  and  Hekate  in  the  underworld. 

In  the  text  of  the  Synoptics  these  seven  parables  (with  about  as 
many  more  which  are  clearly  the  unlovely  and  worthless  work  of 
forgers)  are  given  specifically  as  similitudes  of  the  divine  realm: 
the  set  phrase  is  used,  "the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  unto"  a 
king,  a  buried  treasure,  a  mustard-seed,  etc.,  with  singular  incon- 
gruity. Yet  not  one  of  the  similitudes  applies  to  the  realm  itself; 
each  relates  to  a  particular  phase  of  the  larger  intellectual  life. 

lesous  Cautions  the  Disciples  against  Revealing  Esoteric 
Truths  to  the  Unworthy 

[Matt.  xiii.  34.    Mk.  iv.  10.     INIatt.  xiii.  10,  11.    Mk.  iv.  22,  il.    Matt.  vii.  6] 

All  these  truths  lesous  taught  in  allegories  when  speaking  to  the 
multitude;  and  other  than  by  allegory  he  taught  them  no  sacred 
mystery.  And  when  he  was  alone,  came  the  companions  and  asked 
him: 

"Why  do  you  veil  the  truth  from  them  in  allegories?" 

He  answered  them : 

"The  Real  is  concealed  only  when  it  wears  the  form  of  Illusion ; 
and  the  sacred  teachings  are  enigmatically  stated,  so  that  none  but 
the  discerning  may  discover  the  hidden  meaning.  To  you  it  has 
been  granted  to  gain  knowledge  of  the  Mysteries;  but  to  the  outsid- 
ers these  teachings  are  imparted  only  in  myths  and  allegories.  Do 
not  turn  the  temple- fane  into  a  kennel  for  dogs;  neither  cast  your 
pearls  before  swine,  else  they  will  trample  them  under  their  feet, 
and  turn  about  and  rend  you." 


104  iHE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Each  of  the  great  reh"gions  of  antiquity  had  for  the  profane, 
aside  from  its  moral  code,  only  mythological  and  allegorical  teach- 
ings, combined  with  symbolic  ritualism;  while  its  system  of  sacred 
science  and  philosophy  was  reserved  for  an  inner  circle  of  initiates. 
Even  the  Christian  church,  although  it  never  at  any  time  possessed 
the  sacred  Gnosis,  in  its  primitive  days  professed  to  have  its  "mys- 
teries," and  was  organized  in  the  form  of  a  secret  society,  in  puerile 
imitation  of  the  pagan  Mysteries.  Every  great  philosopher  com- 
municated the  more  profound  truths  to  a  few  chosen  pupils  only. 
Thus  Plato  {Theaitctos,  p.  152)  puts  these  w^ords  in  the  mouth  of 
Socrates :  "Now  I  verily  and  indeed  suspect  that  Protagoras,  who 
was  an  almighty  wise  man,  spoke  these  things  in  a  parable  to  the 
common  herd,  like  you  and  me.  but  he  told  the  truth,  'his  truth,'  in 
secret  to  his  own  disciples."  And  of  Plato  himself  Prof.  Erdmann 
truly  says  {History  of  Philosophy,  p.  97)  that  only  his  exoteric 
teachings  are  given  in  his  writings,  and  that  he  taught  his  esoteric 
philosophy  to  the  disciples  in  the  Academe.  In  what  is  probably  the 
oldest  literary  composition  extant  the  distinction  is  drawn  between 
esoteric  and  exoteric  teaching,  as  shown  by  the  following  accurate 
translation,  by  Dr.  John  Muir,  of  Rig  Veda,  8.  164,  45 : 

"Speech  consists  of  four  defined  grades. 

These  are  known  by  those  Brdhmans  who  are  wnse. 
They  do  not  reveal  the  three  which  are  esoteric. 
Men  speak  the  fourth  grade  of  speech." 

Here  the  word  Brahman  means  a  Knower  of  Brahma,  the  Deity, 
as  the  hereditary  caste  of  Brahmans  did  not  exist  in  the  Vedic  age. 

A  literal  rendering  of  the  phrase  in  Mattheiv  vii.  6  would  be, 
"Give  not  the  sanctuary  {to  ayiov)  to  the  dogs";  idiomatically  it 
is  an  injunction  not  to  convert  the  sacred  place  into  a  kennel.  It 
forcibly  expresses  the  rule  that  the  unpurified  should  not  be  admit- 
ted into  the  inner  circle.  The  metaphor  of  the  pearls  and  the  swine 
similarly  enjoins  against  declaring  sacred  truths  to  the  morally  un- 
worthy. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  105 

6.     Purity  and  Brotherly  Love  are  Essential  Qualifications 

lesous  Alludes  to  the  Lost  State  of  Childhood 
[Mk.  X.  13,  14.    Matt,  xviii.  10.    Mk.  x.  16.    Matt,  xviii.  i,  3,  4] 

Parents  were  bringing  him  little  children,  that  he  might  touch 
them;  but  the  disciples  kept  reproving  those  who  brought  them. 
When  he  saw  it,  lesous  was  displeased,  and  said  to  the  disciples : 

"Let  the  little  children  come  to  me,  and  hinder  them  not ;  for  't  is 
to  those  who  have  regained  the  child-state  that  the  realm  of  the 
starry  spaces  belongs.  See  that  you  disdain  not  one  of  these  in- 
fants; for  I  say  to  you,  In  the  sphere  divine  their  Gods  ever  behold 
the  face  of  the  All-Father." 

And  he  folded  them  in  his  arms  and  went  on  praising  them.  Said 
to  him  the  disciples  : 

"Then  who  in  the  realm  of  the  starry  spaces  is  an  adult?" 

Said  he  to  them : 

"Verily  I  say  to  you.  He  who  does  not  turn  back  and  regain  the 
child-state  shall  not  at  all  enter  the  realm  divine.  Therefore  whoso- 
ever stoops  to  become  an  'infant,'  't  is  he  that  is  an  'adult'  in  the 
realm  of  the  starry  spaces." 

COMMEXTARY 

The  incarnating  Self  comes  into  contact  with  the  various  planes 
of  existence  by  means  of  the  corresponding  functional  organs  and 
vital  centres  of  the  body;  hence,  until  a  child  has  reached  the  age  of 
puberty,  its  soul,  or  higher  subjective  consciousness,  is  not  in  touch 
with  the  gross  planes  of  the  generative  sphere.  The  souls  of  little 
children,  as  said  by  Plato,  are  still  in  the  overworld.  "The  living 
soul,"  says  the  Svctasvatara  U panishad ,  "is  not  woman,  nor  man, 
nor  neuter ;  whatever  body  it  takes,  with  that  it  is  joined  only."  To 
reach  the  divine  consciousness,  the  perfect  purity  of  the  child-state 
must  be  regained.  All  true  disciples  lead  lives  of  chastity:  in  this 
matter  the  mystic  discipline  is  absolutely  uncompromising. 

In  the  Greek  text  this  beautiful  passage  has  been  sadly  mutilated; 
and  the  "authorized"  translators,  missing  the  technical  points,  have 


io6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

made  it  almost  meaningless.    For  instance,  meizon  ("greater")  here 
signifies,  like  the  Latin  major,  one  who  has  attained  his  majority. 

lesous  Declares  That  among  the  Followers  of  the  True  There  Are 
No  Sectarians 

[Mk.  ix.  38-40.    Matt.  x.  32,  42;  xviii.  5,  6] 

Said  Idannes : 

"Teacher,  we  saw  a  roving  healer  who  was  casting  out  spirits  by 
the  Power  you  use ;  and  we  forbade  him,  because  he  does  not  go 
along  with  us." 

But  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Hinder  him  not :  for  no  one  who  may  energize  that  holy  Power 
can  ever  again  speak  lightly  of  the  Self  Divine;  and  he  who  is  not 
against  us  is  for  us.  Every  one,  therefore,  who  acknowledges  me 
before  men,  him  shall  I  acknowledge  before  the  Father;  and  who- 
soever, with  a  disciple's  grace,  gives  but  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  one 
of  these  babes  who  believe  in  me,  verily  I  say  to  you.  His  reward 
he  shall  not  lose.  And  whoever  extends  hospitality  to  one  such 
little  child,  imparting  to  him  my  Power,  is  thereby  receiving  me  as 
his  guest.  But  whoever  places  impediments  in  the  way  of  one  of 
these  babes  of  the  realm,  't  were  well  for  him  if  a  ponderous  mill- 
stone were  hanged  about  his  neck  and  he  were  plunged  into  the 
abysmal  sea." 

COMMENTARY 

The  "babes"  of  the  metaphor  are  those  men  and  women  in  whom 
the  inner  life  is  quickening.  The  impediments  that  may  be  placed 
in  their  way  are  the  false  teachings  of  the  charlatans,  who  bring 
upon  themselves  and  their  dupes  woe  unutterable.  For,  of  all  crimes 
there  is  none  greater  than  that  of  polluting  and  poisoning  the  few 
wells  of  wisdom  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  thirsty  desert  of  human 
life. 

In  the  falsified  text  "name"  has  been  substituted  for  "power," 
apparently  because  the  forgers  wished  to  conceal  the  fact  that 
lesous  employed  a  natural  (though  occult  and  magical)  force  in 
healing:. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  107 

lesous  Discourses  on  Divorce,  Marriage,  and  Celibacy 
[Mk.  X.  2-9.     Matt.  xix.  10-12.     Lk.  xx.  34-36] 

Some  of  the  orthodox  put  to  lesous  a  test-question : 

"Is  it  right  for  a  husband  to  obtain  a  divorce  from  his  wife?" 

He  answered  them : 

"What  says  the  law?" 

Said  they: 

"The  law  sanctions  release  from  ill-starred  marriages,  and  grants 
either  husband  or  wife  a  decree  of  divorce." 

Said  lesous  to  them : 

"The  law  concedes  this  because  of  the  animality  of  the  genera- 
tive cycle.  But  the  immortal  Self  of  man  is  sexless ;  and  in  the  germ 
of  evolution  the  All-Father  made  all  human  beings  androgynous. 
But  what  the  All-Father  thus  joined  together,  man  has  put  asun- 
der; so  that,  in  this  generative  sphere,  man  and  wife,  though  two, 
become  as  one  body  for  the  purpose  of  reproduction." 

The  disciples  said  to  him : 

"If  thus  is  the  accusation  against  man,  along  with  woman,  't  is 
not  advisable  to  marry." 

Said  he  to  them  : 

"The  sons  of  this  generative  sphere  marry,  and  its  daughters  are 
given  in  marriage ;  but  the  disciples  who  are  resolved  to  reach  the 
divine  realm  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage.  'T  is  not  all 
who  can  embrace  this  arcane  doctrine,  but  only  those  who  are  quali- 
fied for  it.  He  who  is  able  to  embrace  it,  let  him  embrace  it :  for 
they  who  attain  to  the  resurrection  are  emancipated  from  birth  and 
death,  and  are  received  into  the  eternal  habitations." 

COMMENTARY 

Whenever  the  text  touches  on  the  subject  of  sex,  marriage,  or 
divorce,  it  betrays  discrepancies,  laciincr,  and  other  evidences  of 
having  been  clumsily  altered ;  while  later  manuscripts  contain  inter- 
polations not  found  in  the  earlier  ones.  But,  even  as  it  stands,  the 
law  of  divorce  referred  to  is  that  of  the  Greeks,  not  of  the  Jews; 


io8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

for  in  Mark  x.  12  it  is  admitted  tliat  a  woman  could  divorce  her 
husband  — which  she  certainly  could  not  do  under  the  Jewish  code. 
It  is  clear  that  the  text  has  been  rewritten  by  the  ecclesiastics  to  suit 
their  own  peculiar  notions  of  morality.  But  modern  legislators,  in 
the  more  civilized  Christian  countries,  have  refused  to  be  bound 
by  the  narrow  views  imposed  upon  Christianity  by  the  fanatical 
priests  who  thus  falsified  the  text.  Liberal  divorce  laws  are  condu- 
cive to  true  morality,  instead  of  being  subversive  of  it. 

According  to  ancient  Greek  traditions,  the  first  human  beings 
were  not  "male  and  female,"  but  were  male-female,  androgynous, 
and  later  they  separated  into  the  two  sexes.  The  Kabbalistic  inter- 
pretation of  the  myth  of  Adam  and  Eve  is  to  the  same  effect. 

7.     True  Religion  Does  Not  Consist  of  Outer  Observances 

lesous  Places  Love  for  Humanity  above  All  the  Externals  of  Religion 
[Mk.  xii.  28.    Matt.  xxii.  36-39.    Mk.  xii.  32-34] 

One  of  the  learned  men,  who  had  drawn  near  and  had  listened  to 
their  mutual  discussion,  perceiving  that  lesous  had  answered  them 
appositely,  put  this  question  to  him : 

"Teacher,  what  is  the  all-important  maxim  of  morality?" 

lesous  answered  him : 

"The  priests  place  first  this  noble  precept,  Man  should  love  his 
God.    Wise,  too,  are  they  who  bid  you.  Love  mankind." 

Said  the  learned  man  to  him  : 

"Cautiously  but  truly  spoken,  Teacher!  Love  for  mankind  avails 
more  than  all  sacrifices  to  the  Gods  and  ritualistic  worship." 

And  seeing  that  he  answered  with  intuition,  lesous  said  to  him : 

"You  are  not  far  from  the  realm  divine," 

COMMENTARY 

Love  of  humanity  and  love  of  God  are  essentially  the  same ;  for 
man  is  the  Divine  Principle  incarnated.  The  true  Self  of  man 
dv^-ells  eternally  in  the  heavens,  consciously  a  God,  overshadowing 
the  manifested  man  of  the  objective  world.    Thus  for  each  mortal 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  109 

on  earth  there  is  an  Immortal  in  heaven ;  and  these  many  Gods  con- 
stitute a  divine  Unity,  the  Logos.  Love  of  mankind  in  its  higher 
aspect  is  therefore  love  of  the  sublime  Self  of  all;  and  he  who  truly 
and  unselfishly  loves  his  fellow-men  is  near,  very  near,  to  the  invisi- 
ble Presence  and  the  holy  realm.  But  love  for  an  imaginary  an- 
thropomorphic Deity  is  mere  sentimentality  verging  on  fatuity. 

lesous  Denounces  the  Conventional  Religionists  Who  Desecrate  the  Inner  Truth, 
but  Adorn  the  Outer  Falsity 

[Matt.  XV.  I,  2.    Lk.  xi.  39.    Matt,  xxiii.  25,  27,  24,  13 ;  xxii.  14.    Lk.  xi.  52,  45,  46. 
Matt,  xxiii.  29-32;  xii.  14] 

Then  said  to  him  one  of  the  orthodox  priests : 

"So,  then,  you  would  do  away  with  all  lustrations !  Is  it  for  this 
reason  that  your  disciples  eat  their  bread  with  grimy,  unwashed 
hands?" 

And  the  Master  said  to  him : 

"Now,  ye  orthodox  are  like  cups  that  have  been  w^ashed  on  the 
outside  but  not  on  the  inside :  you  are  cleanly  in  person,  but  your 
subjective  nature  is  full  of  rascality  and  rapacity.  Woe  to  you, 
exemplars  of  orthodoxy!  For  you  are  like  stuccoed  burial-vaults, 
which  on  the  outside  present  an  ornate  appearance  but  within  are 
full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  utter  filth.  In  your  fear  of  defilement 
you  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  blindly  swallow  the  camel!  But  woe 
to  you,  priests  of  the  exoteric  faith !  For  you  were  among  the  many 
who  were  thyrsos-bearers  in  the  processions,  but  you  were  not 
among  the  few  who  were  called  to  enter  the  Temple  of  the  Mys- 
teries. Refused  initiation  because  of  your  turpitude,  you  stole  and 
hid  the  key  to  that  Temple,  leaving  the  door  locked  against  mankind. 
Because  you  yourselves  could  not  enter,  you  have  prevented  even 
the  worthy  candidates  who  sought  entrance." 

One  of  the  conventional  scholars  remonstrated  with  him,  saying: 

"Teacher,  by  these  assertions  you  are  heaping  abuse  on  us  as 
well." 

Said  lesous : 

"Woe  to  you  conventional  scholars  also!  For  you  restore  the 
ruined  burial-vaults  of  the  seers  of  old,  and  decorate  the  monu- 


no         THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

ments  of  the  ancient  sages,  and  keep  saying,  'Had  we  lived  in  the 
days  of  our  fathers,  we  should  not  have  been  their  accomplices  in 
shedding  the  blood  of  the  seers — though,  of  course,  we  must  hold 
to  the  faith  of  our  fathers,  however  blood-stained  it  may  be.'  Thus 
you  yourselves  testify  that  you  are  disciples  of  the  murderers  of  the 
seers  and  sages.  Then  fill  ye  with  blood,  to  the  very  brim,  the 
measure  which  your  fathers  partly  filled !" 

Then  the  priests  went  out  and  took  counsel  against  him,  how  they 
might  cause  him  to  be  put  to  death. 

COMMENTARY 

Ceremonial  washings  and  purifyings  were  practised  in  all  the 
ancient  religions,  the  notion  of  physical  cleanliness  being  naturally 
linked  with  that  of  moral  purity.  With  the  superstitious,  even  mere 
hygienic  measures  came  to  be  regarded  as  sacred  ceremonies.  Forks 
being  unknown,  the  Greeks  and  all  others  ate  with  their  fingers, 
and  it  was  therefore  deemed  important  to  wash  the  hands  before 
and  after  eating;  but  as  unclean  hands,  as  a  figure  of  speech,  repre- 
sented guilt  or  an  impure  motive,  washing  the  hands  acquired  a 
ritualistic  significance.  Thus  in  the  Iliad  (vi.  265)  Hektor  says, 
"I  dread  with  unwashed  hands  to  make  a  libation  of  sparkling  wine 
to  Zeus." 

The  saying  in  Maffhczu  xxii.  14,  "Many  are  the  called,  but  few 
are  the  chosen,"  is  obviously  an  adaptation  of  the  Mystery-saying 
quoted  by  Plato,  "Many  are  the  thyrsos-bearers,  but  few  are  the 
initiates."  Some  of  the  "Fathers"  of  the  Christian  church  were 
men  who  had  been  refused  initiation  in  the  Greek  Mysteries  as  being 
morally  unfit. 

The  statement  in  the  text,  that  the  "scribes  and  Pharisees,"  by 
saying  that  if  they  had  lived  in  the  days  of  their  fathers  they  would 
not  have  been  their  accomplices  in  shedding  the  blood  of  the  seers, 
thereby  admit  that  they  are  "the  sons  of  those  who  slew  the  seers," 
is  illogical  and  absurd.  The  offence  of  the  men  of  learning  is  that 
they  continue  in  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  so  endorse  a  religion 
promulgated  by  murderous  priests,  thereby  acknowledging  them- 
selves to  be  the  followers  (not  "sons")  of  the  murderers,  and  hence 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  iii 

accomplices  after  the  fact.  The  passage  clearly  shows  that  it  has 
been  emasculated  by  priests  of  the  very  class  against  which  it  is 
directed. 


Ill 

THE  INITIATION  BY  FIRE-NOETIC 
DEGREE;  SOLAR 

I.     The  Action  of  the  Triple  Fire 

lesous  Restrains  the  Twin  Sons  of  Thunder  from  Destroying  a  Village 

[Lk.  ix.  51-56] 

When  the  perfective  season  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  day 
was  soon  to  dawn  when  he  should  ascend  to  the  kingdom  appointed 
to  him  by  the  Father,  lesous  resolutely  set  his  face  towards  the 
sacred  city.  Beginning  his  journey,  he  sent  the  seventy-two  mes- 
sengers before  him.  But  when  the  messengers  entered  into  a  cer- 
tain village  in  the  mid-country,  to  make  ready  for  him.  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  village  refused  to  extend  him  hospitality,  for  they 
were  opposed  to  his  going  up  to  the  holy  city.  Now,  when  Idannes 
and  lakobos,  the  twin  Sons  of  Thunder,  saw  this  affront,  they  said 
to  him : 

"Master,  is  it  your  will  that  we  should  call  down  fire  from  the  sky 
and  consume  them?" 

But  lesous  turned  and  reproved  them;  and  they  went  to  another 
village. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  mystic  meditation  by  which  the  threefold  kundalim  is 
brought  into  action,  the  mind  is  concentrated  on  the  various  nerve- 
centres  consecutively,  beginning  at  the  lower  ones  and  going  up- 
ward. The  tissues  of  any  nerve-centre  not  prepared  for  the  action 
of  the  higher  force  would  be  injured  or  even  destroyed  by  the  im- 
pact of  the  positive  and  negative  currents.  The  noetic  regents  of 
these  two  ''fires"  are  represented  by  loannes  and  lakobos,  who  cor- 


112  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

respond  to  the  two  fire-breathing-  "witnesses"  of  the  Apocalypse 
(xi.  1-4),  who  are  also  called  "the  two  olive-trees."  They  are  rep- 
resented by  the  two  serpents  on  the  wand  of  Hermes.  This  wand 
was  originally  an  olive-branch,  which  is  still  the  emblem  of  peace. 
The  olive  was  also  sacred  to  Athena. 


2.     The  Inner  Meaning  of  the  Rite  of  Crucifixion 

lesous  Explains  the  Doctrine  of  the  Cross,  and  Reproves  Simon 
for  Desiring  to  Avert  the  Ordeal 

[Matt.  XX.  17-19.     Mk.  viii.  32,  33] 

As  lesous  was  journeying  towards  the  sacred  city,  he  kept  the 
twelve  companions  about  him  as  an  inner  circle,  apart  from  the 
others,  and  on  the  way  he  said  to  them : 

"Behold,  we  are  going  up  to  the  sacred  city,  and  there  the  Son 
of  the  Starry  King  shall  be  handed  over  to  the  priests ;  and  they  will 
pass  sentence  of  death  on  him  and  hand  him  over  to  the  rabble  to 
mock,  to  buffet,  and  to  crucify;  and  on  the  third  day  he  shall  be 
raised  from  the  dead." 

And  he  elucidated  the  arcane  doctrine  in  clear  and  unmistakable 
language.  Then  Simon  took  him  to  himself  and  began  to  reprove 
him  for  speaking  ill-omened  words ;  but  lesous,  turning  and  looking 
around  upon  his  companions,  reprimanded  Simon,  and  said : 

"Get  behind  me,  you  evil  genius !  For  your  mind  is  centred  on 
human  affairs,  and  not  on  things  divine." 

COMMENTARY 

As  it  passes  away  from  one  plane  of  life  the  soul  emerges  upon 
another :  from  the  point  of  departure  it  seemingly  dies ;  from  the 
point  of  arrival  it  is  apparently  born.  The  death  on  the  cross  sym- 
bolizes the  birth  "from  above,"  the  transition  of  the  soul  from  the 
physical  body  to  the  mind-born  solar  body. 

Simon  here  appears  in  his  lower  character  as  the  discursive  rea- 
son ;  he  is  shown  in  his  destructive  aspect,  as  were  loannes  and 
lakobos  when  they  proposed  to  destroy  the  inhospitable  villagers. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  113 

3.     The  Three  Vestures  of  the  Soul 

The  Three  Visible  Forms  of  Icsous  Are  Manifested  Simultaneously 
[Matt.  xvii.  1-5.    Lk.  ix.  36] 

On  the  seventh  day  of  the  journey  lesous  took  with  him  loudas, 
Idannes  and  lakobos,  and  brought  them  to  a  lone  and  lofty  moun- 
tain; and  before  them  his  semblance  was  changed  to  that  of  a  God: 
his  face  irradiated  golden  light,  as  shines  the  sun,  and  his  garments 
turned  gleaming  white,  like  the  silvery  light  of  the  moon.  And 
behold,  there  appeared  to  them  the  Lawgiver  and  the  Seer,  who 
held  high  converse  with  the  Teacher.    Then  said  loudas  to  him  : 

"Master,  if  't  is  your  will,  let  us  build  here  a  habitation  with  three 
halls — one  for  you,  one  for  the  Lawgiver,  and  one  for  the  Seer." 

While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a  fire-laden  cloud  enfolded 
them,  and  a  voice  from  its  luminous  depths  proclaimed : 

"These  three,  Lawgiver,  Seer  and  Teacher,  are  but  one.  Hear 
ye  the  Teacher;  my  beloved  Son  is  he,  and  o'er  the  realm  supernal 
he  shall  reign." 

And  when  the  voice  had  ceased,  the  vision  vanished,  and  the  dis- 
ciples saw  no  one  with  them  save  lesous  only. 

COMMENTARY 

loudas  is  here  the  regent  of  the  central  fire,  sushumna;  in  the 
falsified  text  ''Petros"  has  been  substituted  for  the  discredited  dis- 
ciple. The  three  companions  represent  the  threefold  kundalinl,  the 
creative  fires;  and  the  "mountain"  of  the  transfiguration  is  the 
sahasrdra  chakra,  the  highest  of  the  brain-centres. 

The  three  outer  forms,  the  vehicles  of  the  soul  on  the  three  planes 
of  life,  are  shown  simultaneously,  and  the  physical  body,  the  lowest 
of  the  three,  exhibits  the  golden  luminosity  of  the  as  yet  unborn 
solar  body;  as  the  physical  body  is  sustained  by  the  "lunar"  (psy- 
chic) forces,  the  tatWas,  the  garments  of  lesous  are  said  to  shine 
with  the  moon's  radiance.  The  fire-laden  cloud,  whence  issues  the 
voice,  shows  this  to  be  the  lustration  of  fire.  In  the  perverted  text 
the  disciples  are  said  to  propose  building  "three  tabernacles."     But 


114  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  formative  forces  are  at  this  stage  building  up  the  one  eternal 
habitation,  the  solar  body,  which  is  to  take  the  place  of  the  physical 
and  psychic  forms  (which  are  mortal)  and  the  spiritual  body,  which 
is  but  an  ideal  pattern  for  the  permanent  vesture  of  the  soul. 

4.     The  Abode  of  Thought 

lesoiis  Rides  the  Steed  of  the  Sun-God  When  Entering  the  Holy  City 
[Mk.  xi.  1-9.    Matt.  xxi.  2.    Lk.  xix.  38] 

When  they  drew  near  to  the  sacred  city,  towards  the  mountain 
of  the  olive-trees,  he  sent  lakobos  and  loannes  in  advance,  saying 
to  them : 

"Go  to  the  village  over  against  you,  and  directly  you  enter  it  you 
will  find  a  young  ass  tied,  which  never  yet  has  mortal  bestrode. 
Untie  it,  and  lead  it  hither;  and  if  any  one  says  to  you,  'Why  are 
you  doing  this?'  say,  'The  Master  has  need  of  the  young  ass,  and 
he  will  duly  return  it.'  " 

They  departed,  and  found  the  young  ass  tied  at  the  gate,  outside 
the  stable,  by  the  road-bend ;  and  they  untied  it.  Some  of  the  by- 
standers said  to  them : 

"What  are  you  doing,  untying  the  young  ass?" 

The  two  disciples  made  reply  as  lesous  had  directed  them,  and 
the  bystanders  did  not  interfere  with  them.  And  they  led  the  young 
ass  to  lesous,  and  put  their  cloaks  on  it  for  a  saddle,  and  he  bestrode 
it.  Meantime  many  of  the  people  spread  their  cloaks  upon  the  road, 
and  others  spread  rushes  which  they  had  cut  in  the  fields.  And 
those  who  went  before  and  those  who  followed  behind  kept  crying 
out : 

"lo,  ia,  ic!  Blessed  is  the  unanointed  King!  Blessed  is  his  com- 
ing realm!    Id,  ia,  id!" 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  Apocalypse  (xi.  3,  4)  the  "two  witnesses"  are  called  also 
the  "two  olive-trees."  As  they  stand  for  the  two  currents  Ida  and 
pingala,  which  extend  to  the  sixth  of  the  major  chakras,  the  pitui- 
tary body,  the  latter  may  be  safely  regarded  as  the  "mountain  of 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  115 

the  olive-trees" ;  its  zodiacal  correspondence  is  Cancer.  In  the  sub- 
divisions of  this  sign  are  the  Manger  (  ^drvrj  )  or  Stable  {Prccsepe) 
and  the  Asses  {"Ovol)  of  Bakchos.  The  two  disciples  are  not 
named  in  the  text;  but  as  the  signs  Gemini  and  Taurus,  of  which 
lakobos  and  loannes  are  regents,  immediately  precede  Cancer,  the 
village  where  the  Ass  is  found  lies  "over  against"  those  two  com- 
panions of  the  Sun-God.  The  word  a/x<^oSoj/  {Mark  xi.  4),  which 
signifies  "a  road  leading  around  a  place,"  is  erroneously  rendered 
in  the  authorized  version  "a  place  where  two  ways  met."  The  place 
here  is,  astronomically,  the  summer  solstice,  at  which  point  the  sun 
seems  to  pause  for  a  little  before  again  moving  back  obliquely  to- 
wards the  equator.  The  meeting-points  of  the  ways  are  the  equi- 
noxes, where  the  ecliptic  intersects  the  equator.  The  word  Ovpa, 
"door,"  should  be  ttvXcop,  "gate,"  since  it  refers  to  Cancer  as  the 
highest  gate  of  the  ecliptic. 

The  Greeks  looked  upon  the  ass  as  a  stupid  animal :  among  the 
ancients,  as  among  the  moderns,  a  dunce  was  called  a  donkey,  an 
ass.  The  humble  donkey  is  really  far  more  intelligent  than  is  gen- 
erally supposed;  but,  singularly,  his  reputed  vacancy  of  mind,  pa- 
tience and  almost  unconquerable  obstinacy  are  the  very  qualities 
which  made  him  sacred  to  the  Sun-God.  The  triumphal  entry  of 
lesous  into  the  holy  city  represents  allegorically  the  attainment  of 
the  highest  state  of  spiritual  illumination.  Now%  the  sixth  stage  in 
the  mystic  contemplation  leading  to  the  final  illumination  is  said  to 
be  one  of  unwavering  concentration  (dhdrana),  accompanied  by 
complete  abstraction  from  all  objects  of  sensuous  perception,  alike 
on  the  material  and  the  psychic  planes  of  consciousness :  so  far  as  the 
phenomenal  world  is  concerned,  the  mind  is  a  perfect  blank,  its 
entire  energy^  being  directed,  by  a  supreme  effort  of  the  will,  to- 
wards the  sacred  goal.  This  sixth  stage,  of  patient,  determined 
concentration  and  blank  abstraction,  is  symbolized  by  the  humble 
donkey  which  carries  lesous  into  the  holy  city.  The  two  Asses  in 
Cancer  presumably  stand  for  mind-carriers  on  the  two  sensuous 
planes ;  but  here  in  the  allegory  but  one  of  them  is  needed,  though 
in  Matthew  a  she-ass  and  her  colt  are  spoken  of,  and  lesous  is  said 
to  ride  "them." 


ii6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  nondescript  word  husanna,  which  is  neither  Hebrew  nor 
Greek,  and  for  which  no  satisfactory  explanation  has  ever  been 
offered,  is  here  replaced  by  the  Greek  Mystery-cry  used  in  the  Eleu- 
sinian  procession,  of  which  the  whole  incident  is  strongly  reminis- 
cent. 

lesous  Defies  the  Tetrarch,  and  Laments  over  the  Murderous  City 
[Lk.  xiii.  31-34;  xix.  41.    Matt.  xiii.  2>7\ 

That  very  hour  came  to  him  some  of  the  exoteric  priests  and  said : 

"Away!  Depart  from  this  place;  for  the  tetrarch  purposes  to 
kill  you." 

Said  lesous  to  them : 

"Go  and  take  to  that  wolf  this  message  from  me:  Behold,  to-day 
and  to-morrow  I  shall  cast  out,  as  if  they  were  evil  spirits,  those 
priests  who  possess  the  city,  and  shall  point  out  the  true  path  to 
those  whom  they  have  misled  ;-and  the  third  day  I  shall  have  myself 
initiated." 

And  he  broke  into  lamentation,  saying : 

"O  sacred  city,  thou  murderess  of  the  seers !  How  often  would 
I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  nestles  her 
chickens  under  her  wings — and  you  would  not!" 

COMMENTARY 

The  heart,  which  in  the  purified  man  is  the  manifesting  centre  of 
the  divine  love,  is  in  the  unregenerate  the  organ  of  the  psychic  or 
phrenic  mind,  the  foe  of  spirituality. 

According  to  the  text  of  Liike,  lesous  calls  the  tetrarch  (Herod) 
a  "fox."  But  the  allegory  demands  that  he  should  be  a  personifica- 
tion of  the  Wolf  (Lupus),  the  southern  paranatellon  of  Scorpio. 
The  Greek  name  of  the  constellation  is  Therion,  "Wild-beast."  By 
the  Sumero-Akkadians  it  was  named  Ligbat,  "the  Beast  of  Death," 
and  was  fabled  to  be  a  Demon  of  Darkness  opposed  to  the  Sun-God. 
The  "historian"  who  compiled  Luke  probably  deemed  it  desirable 
to  soften  the  epithet,  and  therefore  changed  it  to  "fox."  The  text 
also  makes  lesous  say,  "I  am  casting  out  ghosts  and  performing 
cures  to-day  and  to-morrow" ;  but  in  the  narrative  lesous  casts  out 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  117 

the  priests  from  the  temple  and  teaches  the  people  during  the  first 
two  days.  On  the  third  day  he  begins  his  initiation  by  partaking 
of  the  feast  in  celebration  of  the  vernal  equinox,  and  on  the  fourth 
day  he  is  crucified;  he  then  remains  in  the  tomb  during  the  fifth 
and  sixth  days,  and  rises  on  the  seventh.  The  forgers  have  juggled 
with  the  text  in  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  make  out  that  more  than 
seven  days  elapsed  between  the  entry  of  lesous  into  the  city  and  his 
resurrection. 


5.     The  Purification  of  the  Centre  of  Divine  Love 

lesous  Drives  Out  Those  Who  Are  Desecrating  the  Temple 
[Mk.  xi.  15.    Matt.  xxi.  12,  13.    Lk.  xix.  47.    Matt.  xxi.  17] 

When  he  had  come  into  the  city,  he  entered  the  temple  and  began 
the  work  of  purifying  it  by  casting  out  the  traffickers  who  made  it 
a  place  of  barter  and  sale :  he  overturned  the  tables  of  the  money- 
changers and  the  seats  of  the  wretches  who  sold  the  doves.  For  he 
said  to  them  all : 

"This  place  should  be  the  fane  of  the  Love  Divine;  but  ye  have 
made  it  a  den  of  prowling  beasts  of  prey." 

And  making  the  temple  his  own,  he  therein  taught  the  noble 
truths.  But  the  priests  whom  he  had  cast  out  plotted  to  destroy 
him,  and  to  win  over  the  people  to  their  side. 

When  it  was  evening,  he  went,  with  his  twelve  companions,  to  the 
village  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  where  they 
had  found  the  ass,  and  lodged  with  the  hospitable  \illagers. 

COMMENTARY 

The  money-changers  and  dove-sellers  are,  allegorically,  the  base 
desires  and  passions  which  defile  the  heart ;  in  the  literal  sense,  they 
are  the  exoteric  priests,  for  whom  the  maintenance  of  religion  is 
mainly  a  money-making  pursuit.  The  doves  (sadly  soiled  doves) 
were  the  temple-women,  from  whose  immorality  the  priests  reaped  a 
profit. 

The  teaching  in  the  temple  by  day,  and  withdrawal  from  the  city 


ii8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

at  nightfall,  refer  to  the  objective  and  subjective  states  of  conscious- 
ness, and  to  the  interaction  between  the  heart-centres  and  the  brain- 
centres ;  here  the  heart,  as  a  centre  of  spiritual  consciousness,  is 
made  positive  and  the  brain  negative. 


6.     The  Extirpation  of  the  Procreative  Centres 

lesous  Withers  the  Fig-tree,  and  Tells  of  the  True  Creative  Powei 
[Matt.  xxi.  18-21.    Mk.  xi.  24,  25.    Matt.  vi.  gnu] 

In  the  morning,  as  lesous  was  returning  to  the  city,  he  was  hun- 
gry, and  seeing  a  lone  fig-tree  by  the  roadside,  he  came  to  it,  and 
found  on  it  nothing  but  leaves.     Said  he  to  the  tree : 

"Nevermore  throughout  the  ages  shall  fruit  be  borne  by  thee!" 

Before  the  eyes  of  the  companions  the  tree  turned  into  a  lifeless 
trunk,  with  scorched  and  leafless  branches ;  and  the  wondering  dis- 
ciples asked  him : 

"How  is  it  that  the  fig-tree  instantly  w^ithered  away?" 

lesous  answ^ered  them : 

"If  you  have  unwavering  faith,  you  shall  not  only  perform  the 
magic  work  of  blasting  the  fig-tree,  but  even  should  you  say  to  this 
mountain,  'Be  removed  from  your  place  and  cast  into  the  sea,*  the 
event  w^ould  come  to  pass.  Therefore  I  say  to  you,  Hold  to  the 
conviction  that  you  have  already  received  all  things  whatsoever  that 
you  keep  praying  and  asking  for,  and  they  '11  be  yours.  And  when- 
ever you  essay  to  commune  with  the  overshadowing  Presence,  first 
forgive  any  and  every  wrong  you  may  have  suffered  from  any  one, 
that  your  heavenly  Father  may  also  forgive  you  your  misdeeds. 
Let  this  be  the  form  of  your  petition : 

"Our  Father  in  the  starry  heavens  enthroned, 
In  sacred  ritual  be  thy  name  intoned ; 
Thy  realm  established  be  among  the  blest. 
Thy  will  on  earth,  as  in  the  heavens,  expressed. 
Supernal  wisdom  grant  us  now  to  know, 
Nor  stay  its  coming  through  the  ages  slow : 
To-morrow's  bread  of  life  to-day  on  us  bestow." 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  119 


COMMENTARY 


The  withered  fig-tree  represents  the  wholly  atrophied  generative 
system  of  the  perfect  ascetic.  The  procreative  function  has  to  be 
done  away  with  before  the  brain  can  be  made  the  organ  of  the 
divinely  creative  and  formative  power  of  the  true  Mind,  the  Nous. 
It  is  by  energizing  the  pituitary  body,  or  hypophysis  cerebri,  by  pure 
will-power,  that  the  "single  eye"  is  opened  and  vision  gained  of 
the  ^ethereal  "sea." 

The  paradoxical  statement  that  the  aspirant  shall  receive  every- 
thing he  seeks,  if  he  believes  that  he  already  has  received  it,  is  but 
an  affirmation  that  the  divine  realm  is  within  man,  and  not  with- 
out: all  knowledge  and  all  the  higher  powers  are  stored  up  and 
latent  in  the  soul,  and  no  man  will  attain  them  unless  he  believes  that 
he  possesses  them. 

The  model  prayer,  as  given  in  Mafthezv,  is  metrical,  and  consists 
of  eleven  lines;  to  these,  in  later  manuscripts,  interpolators  have 
added  various  doxological  formulae,  such  as,  "For  thine  is  the  realm, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  throughout  the  aeons.  Amen."  These 
endings  are  unquestionably  spurious,  and  are  rejected  by  all  careful 
textual  critics.  The  last  four  lines  of  the  prayer,  "And  forgive  us 
our  debts,"  etc.,  are  in  a  different  literary  style  from  those  preced- 
ing them:  they  are  greatly  inferior  in  rhythmical  construction,  and 
contain  objectionable  sentiments.  That  lesous  would  teach  his  dis- 
ciples to  implore  the  Father  not  to  lead  them  into  temptation,  but  to 
deliver  them  from  the  Evil  One  (the  Devil),  is  a  conception  that 
must  be  rejected :  for  the  Father  leads  no  one  into  temptation,  and 
the  Devil  is  a  creation  of  vulgar  superstition.  Thus  only  seven  lines 
of  the  prayer  can  be  accepted  as  genuine;  and  the  seven  lines  are 
complete  in  themselves,  while  seven  is  a  peculiarly  sacred  number. 
The  coined  word  hmovo'iov,  which  is  found  only  in  this  prayer,  is 
most  probably  a  verbal  adjective  formed  from  e7ret/ott,  and  mean- 
ing "for  the  coming  (day)."  The  rendering  "daily  bread"  is  wholly 
inadequate;  for  "bread"  is  here  used  metaphorically  for  spiritual 
wisdom,  the  mystical  "bread  of  life,"  which  the  great  majority  of 
mankind  will  obtain  only  at  the  close  of  the  evolutionary  period, 


120  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

when  tliey  shall  have  progressed  beyond  the  animal-human  stage  of 
generation.  While  wearing  his  "muddy  vesture  of  decay"  man  be- 
longs more  properly  to  the  animal  kingdom  than  to  the  divine  realm. 


7.     lesous  Discourses  of  the  Coming  of  the  Self 

The  Semi-divine  and  the  Divine  Lustrator 
[Mk.  xi.  27-31.    Matt.  xxii.  26,  27] 

They  came  again  to  the  sacred  city ;  and  as  he  was  teaching  in 
the  temple,  the  priests  came  and  said  to  him : 

"By  what  authority  are  you  teaching  in  our  temple,  which  you 
have  usurped  ?" 

lesous  said  to  them  : 

"I  shall  put  to  you  a  question  concerning  one  rite  instituted  in  the 
Lesser  Mysteries;  give  me  the  answer  to  it,  and  I  w^ill  tell  you  by 
what  authority  I  am  teaching  in  this  temple.  This  is  the  question, 
Was  the  lustral  rite  of  loannes  instituted  by  the  Gods  or  but  by 
men  ?" 

The  priests  debated  among  themselves,  saying: 

"Were  we  to  say,  'By  the  Gods,'  he  would  say,  'Why,  then,  did 
you  not  believe  in  him?'    But  were  we  to  say,  'By  mortal  men'  " — 

They  feared  the  common  people,  who  all  held  that  loannes  was 
a  seer !    So  they  answered  lesous  : 

"We  do  not  know." 

He  in  turn  answered  them  : 

"Neither  do  I  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  teaching  in  this 
temple." 

COMMENTARY 

loannes,  as  the  personified  psychic  self,  purifies  with  the  lunar 
element,  water,  and  is  both  divine  and  human ;  whereas  lesous,  as 
the  spiritual  Self,  purifies  with  the  solar  fire,  and  is  wholly  divine. 
The  cleansing  of  the  temple  completes  the  work  of  this  degree ;  the 
discourses  which  follow  it  treat  of  the  advent  of  the  Self  in  the 
final  degree,  the  new  birth,  which  in  the  next  and  last  act  of  the 
drama  is  mystically  represented  by  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  121 

Two  Allegories  of  the  Vineyard— the  Dualit}'  of  the  Mind 
[Mk.  xii.  I.    Matt.  xxi.  28-33.    Lk.  xx.  9-16.    Mk.  xii.  12] 

Then  he  began  to  speak  to  them  in  allegories : 

"Now,  what  is  your  opinion  in  this  instance?  A  man  had  two 
boys;  and  he  came  to  the  first  and  said,  'My  child,  go  to-day  and 
work  in  my  vineyard.'  He  answered,  *I  will  not';  but  afterwards 
he  repented  and  went.  The  father  came  to  the  second  son  and 
made  the  same  request,  and  the  son  said,  'I  '11  go,  Sire' ;  but  he  did 
not  go.    Which  of  the  two  children  did  the  will  of  their  father?" 

The  priests  answered : 

"The  first  one." 

Said  lesous  to  them  : 

"Verily  I  say  to  you.  The  worldly  men  and  the  strumpets  are  go- 
ing before  you  into  the  realm  divine.  For  when  loannes  came  with 
his  moral  code,  the  worldlings  and  the  unfortunate  women  had  faith 
in  him,  but  you  had  none!  Even  when  you  saw  how  they  were 
reformed,  you  did  not  change  your  minds  and  receive  his  purifying 
rite.  Listen  to  another  allegory :  A  man  planted  a  vineyard,  leased 
it  to  husbandmen,  and  went  abroad  for  a  long  stay.  When  the  sea- 
son of  vintage  came,  he  sent  a  servant  to  the  husbandmen  to  de- 
mand his  share  of  the  profits ;  but  the  husbandmen  assaulted  the 
man  with  clubs  and  dro\e  him  away  empty-handed.  The  owner 
sent  another  servant,  and  him  also  they  sent  away  empty-handed, 
after  beating  him  and  heaping  abuse  upon  him.  He  sent  a  third 
servant,  and  him  also  they  wounded  and  drove  away.  Said  the 
owner  of  the  vineyard : 

"  'What  shall  I  do  ?  I  shall  send  my  beloved  son ;  they  will,  no 
doubt,  treat  him  with  respect.' 

"But  when  the  husbandmen  caught  sight  of  the  son,  they  con- 
sidered the  matter  among  themselves  and  said : 

"  'This  is  the  heir ;  let  us  kill  him,  so  that  the  inheritance  may 
become  ours.' 

"So  they  slew  him,  and  threw  his  body  outside  the  vineyard. 
What,  therefore,  will  the  owner  of  the  vineyard  do  to  them?     He 


122  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

will  return,  and  he  will  crush  them  as  grapes  when  trodden  in  the 
Master's  wine-vat ;  yea,  he  will  scatter  them  like  chaff  which  the 
wind  carries  afar  when  grain  is  winnowed  with  the  Master's  fan." 

The  priests,  perceiving  that  lesous  directed  the  allegories  against 
them,  longed  to  lay  violent  hands  on  him,  but  were  held  back  by 
their  fear  of  the  common  people. 

COMMENTARY 

Both  of  these  allegories  have  for  their  subject  the  duality  of  the 
mind.  The  higher  mind,  which  is  tardily  developed  in  man,  is  said 
to  refuse,  at  first,  to  engage  in  the  work  of  evolution  (the  Master's 
vineyard),  while  the  lower  mind,  seemingly  willing,  shirks  the  toil 
of  spiritual  development.  In  the  other  allegory  the  intuitive  mind 
is  represented  as  the  beloved  son,  who  is  slain  by  the  husbandmen, 
the  forces  of  the  reasoning  mind.  The  Master's  vineyard,  in  the 
first  allegory,  is  the  higher  plane  of  evolution,  psychic  and  spiritual ; 
but  the  leased  vineyard  of  the  second  allegory  is  the  material  phase 
of  human  evolution,  which  the  materialistic  mind,  faithless  to  the 
divine  purpose,  seeks  to  usurp.  The  more  superficial  application  of 
these  allegories  to  particular  classes  of  men  is  one  on  which  little 
stress  should  be  laid.  Yet  it  is  quite  true  that  self-righteous  re- 
ligionists, uncharitable  to  those  whom  they  can  not  convert  to  their 
own  views,  are  usually  less  imbued  with  the  spiritual  influences 
than  are  the  more  normal  men  and  women  whom  they  regard  as 
worldly  and  sinful. 

The  Realm  of  the  Anointed  King  Is  Not  Objective 
[Lk.  xvii.  20,  21 ;  xii.  54-56] 

Then  the  orthodox  asked  him : 

"When  does  the  divine  realm  come?" 

lesous  answered  them : 

"The  realm  divine  comes  not  through  external  perception;  nor 
do  the  Gods  say,  'Lo,  't  is  here !'  or  'Lo,  't  is  there !'  For  behold, 
the  divine  realm  is  within  you.  When  you  see  a  cloud  rising  in  the 
west,  you  promptly  predict,  'There  's  a  shower  coming' ;  and  your 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  123 

forecast  proves  to  be  correct.  When  you  note  that  a  south  wind  is 
blowing,  you  say,  'There  will  be  hot  weather' ;  and  it  so  befalls.  Ye 
wiselings !  you  know  how  to  foretell  the  weather  by  the  aspects  of 
the  earth  and  the  sky ;  but  how  is  it  that  you  can  not  interpret  the 
signs  of  the  coming  of  the  realm  divine?" 

COMMENTARY 

Spiritual  truths  are  revealed  by  interior  illumination ;  enlighten- 
ment can  not  come  from  without.  Knowledge  derived  through  the 
senses,  whether  on  the  physical  or  on  the  psychic  planes,  relates 
only  to  phenomena,  never  to  noumena.  Teachings  conveyed  by 
word  of  mouth  or  by  the  written  page  can  act  only  as  external 
stimuli :  they  are  understood  and  accepted  only  in  proportion  as  they 
revive  latent  memories  in  the  subconscious  mind  of  the  recipient. 
But  the  profane,  instead  of  seeking  to  evolve  knowledge  from  the 
inexhaustible  depths  of  the  inner  consciousness,  the  sole  source  of 
true  wisdom,  ever  cherish  the  vain  hope  that  some  God  will  descend 
to  earth,  some  great  teacher  incarnate,  to  impart  to  humanity  as  a 
whole  that  wisdom  which  in  reality  each  man  must  find  for  himself ; 
while  even  more  unwise  are  they  who  imagine  that  an  incarnated 
God  can  atone  vicariously  for  the  sins  which  each  man  must  of 
necessity  expiate  individually.  Within  each  human  being  is  the  one 
God,  the  divine  Teacher,  who  is  for  him  his  only  Savior.  It  is  only 
the  pseudo-teachers  and  exoteric  religionists  who  raise  the  cry,  *'Lo, 
here !"  or  "Lo,  there !" 

The  Signs  That  Precede  the  Manifestation  of  the  Self 

[Mk.  xiii.  I,  2;  xiv.  58;  xiii.  3,  4.    Matt.  xxiv.  3.     Lk.  xxi.  8.     Mk.  xiii.  21,  22. 

Matt.  xxiv.  24-27] 

And  when,  the  second  evening,  he  was  leaving  the  temple,  loudas 
said  to  him : 

''Teacher,  behold  what  massive  stones,  and  what  well-nigh  inde- 
structible buildings !" 

lesous  said  to  him : 

"Are  you  gazing  at  these  magnificent  buildings?    'T  is  you  who 


124  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

shall  be  instrumental  in  destroying  a  nobler  temple,  leaving  not  one 
stone  upon  another;  and  in  three  days  I  shall  replace  it  with  an 
eternal  sanctuary,  a  temple  not  built  with  hands." 

And  when  they  had  returned  to  the  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  of  the  (jlive-trees,  over  against  the  sacred  city,  and  while 
they  were  gazing  back  at  the  temple,  loudas,  loannes,  lakobos, 
Simon  and  Andreas  asked  him  privately : 

"Tell  us,  when  shall  these  things  be  ?  And  what  shall  be  the  sign 
of  thy  Manifestation,  and  of  tlie  (piick  completion  of  the  stately 
structure  that  shall  crown  our  age-long  toil?" 

lesous  answered  them : 

"Take  heed  that  you  are  not  led  astray :  for  many  pretenders  will 
come  in  my  name,  saying,  'I  am  the  Anointed  King,'  and,  'The 
realm  has  drawn  near.'  Do  not  follow  them.  And  then  should 
any  one  say  to  you,  'Behold,  the  Anointed  King  is  here,'  or,  'He  is 
there,'  believe  it  not.  For  there  shall  arise  those  falsely  claiming 
to  be  Anointed  Kings,  and  false  seers;  and  they  shall  seek  wuth 
cunning  lures  to  lead  astray  them  who  are  trying  to  be  disciples.  I 
have  forewarned  you.  If,  therefore,  they  say  to  you,  'Behold,  he 
is  in  the  desert,'  go  not  forth;  or  if  they  say,  'Behold,  he  is  in  the 
dim  and  cjuiet  cloisters,'  believe  them  not.  For  as  at  dawn  a  glim- 
mer of  light  shows  in  the  east,  and  spreads  even  to  the  west  before 
the  rising  of  the  sun,  so  shall  be  the  Manifestation  of  the  Self 
Divine. 

COMMENTARY 

Emancipation  from  the  bondage  of  physical  existence  does  not  at 
all  involve  the  immediate  death  of  the  mortal  body,  which  lives  out 
its  allotted  span  even  when  the  deathless  body  is  fully  formed.  The 
"death"  on  the  cross  is  purely  mystical.  loudas,  as  the  agent  of  the 
crucifixion,  is  the  destroyer  of  the  "temple"  (here  the  material 
body)  in  this  sense  only:  the  highest  of  the  noetic  powers  frees  the 
soul  from  the  illusions  of  material  life.  loudas  is  but  a  personifica- 
tion of  the  most  exalted  of  the  five  solar  "fires,"  the  forces  of  the 
Nous,  or  individual  Logos;  and  the  solar  body,  the  eternal  and  in- 
corruptible body  of  the  resurrection,  is  the  consummation,  or  per- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  125 

feet  accomplishment  (crvvTeXeta),  of  the  labor  of  these  forces  dur- 
ing the  aeon,  or  cycle  of  human  evolution.  The  word  Trapovo-ua, 
"advent,"  or  "presence,"  is  found  in  the  Synoptics  only  in  Matthew 
xxiv.  3,  27,  37.  39,  where  it  is  evidently  a  disingenuous  substitute 
for  the  "pagan"  term  e-m^dveia,  which  signifies  the  glorious  mani- 
festation of  a  God.  Here  the  Manifestation  is  that  of  the  divine 
Self,  man's  inner  God.  In  the  historicized  text  this  allegory  is  con- 
verted, in  a  bungling  way,  into  a  prophecy  of  the  second  coming  of 
lesous  in  his  resurrected  physical  body. 

The  Turbulence  of  the  Lower  Forces— The  Pangs  of  the  New  Birth 

[IMatt.  xxiv.  2,2,  2,2,-     ^Ik.  xiii.  34-36,  7,  8.     Lk.  xxi.  11,  20.     Matt.  xxiv.  28. 

Mk.  xiii.  26] 

"Now,  learn  from  the  fig-tree  the  meaning  of  the  allegory:  when 
the  fig-tree's  new  and  tender  shoots  are  leafing  out,  you  know  that 
summer  is  near;  even  so  shall  the  tree  of  life,  in  your  inner  nature, 
put  forth  its  healing  leaves  and  fruits  of  heavenly  wisdom  when  the 
summer  of  your  soul  is  near.  The  divine  Self  has  been  likened  to 
a  man  who,  having  delegated  his  authority  to  his  servants,  assign- 
ing to  each  his  duties,  and  enjoining  the  gatekeepers  to  keep  vigi- 
lant watch,  gave  over  his  house  to  their  charge  while  he  went  to 
sojourn  in  a  distant  land.  Therefore,  keep  sleepless  watch :  for  you 
know  not  when  the  master  of  the  house  may  come,  whether  at  sun- 
set, at  midnight,  at  dawn,  or  at  noon ;  lest  coming  unexpectedly  he 
should  find  you  asleep  at  your  post.  And  when  in  your  inner  nature 
there  is  war  and  the  crashing  of  battles,  make  no  outcry,  for  all 
these  ordeals  must  be  undergone;  but  not  yet  is  the  initiation  at- 
tained. For  then  it  will  be  as  if  the  powers  of  heaven  were  at  war 
with  the  powers  of  earth,  with  jarring  of  eartlK[uakes  and  dread 
celestial  phenomena;  these  are  the  throes  preceding  the  new  birth. 
And  when  you  see  the  city's  wall  beleaguered  by  legions,  know  then 
that  its  devastation  is  impending ;  for  wherever  the  carcass  is,  there 
will  flock  the  vultures.  And  then  amidst  the  golden  clouds,  as  when 
the  sun  at  rosy  dawn  ascends,  the  Son  of  the  Starry  King  shall  be 
manifested  in  all  his  might  and  majesty. 


126  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  Logos,  having  set  in  motion  the  evolutionary  forces,  leaves 
the  incarnating  soul  to  work  out  its  own  destiny ;  but  at  the  close 
of  the  cycle,  the  perfective  period,  which,  however  far  it  may  be  in 
the  future  for  the  mass  of  mankind,  may  come  at  any  time  in  the 
present  to  the  individual  who  has  outdistanced  his  fellows,  the  Self 
returns.  When  the  mental  and  psychical  life  of  the  man  has  so 
unfolded  and  expanded  as  to  make  possible  the  divine  union,  it  is 
likened  to  a  tree  putting  out  buds  and  blossoms  in  the  spring.  But 
as  the  Self  draws  nearer,  the  accompanying  spiritual  forces  exert 
a  tremendous  pressure  upon  the  whole  nature  of  the  man,  disrupt- 
ing the  old  order  of  things  preparatively  for  the  spiritual  economy. 
The  carnal  man  dies,  as  it  were,  before  the  spiritual  man  is  born. 
The  imagery  of  the  beleaguered  city,  and  of  the  vultures  flocking  to 
the  dead  body,  is  found  also  in  the  Apocalypse:' the  constrictive  and 
disintegrating  forces  of  the  elemental  self  are  figuratively  repre- 
sented. 

In  Mark  xiii.  35  the  four  night-watches  are  given;  but  the  four 
quarters  of  the  day  fit  the  context  better. 

The  Final  Judgment— the  Separating  of  the  Sons  of  Light  from 
the  Sons  of  Darkness 

[Mk.  xiii.  27.     Matt.  xxv.  31-46] 

"Then  shall  he  send  forth  his  messengers,  and  shall  gather  to- 
gether his  own  from  the  four  winds,  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
universe.  Then  shall  he  be  seated  on  his  effulgent  throne ;  before 
him  shall  be  gathered  all  who  were  his  own  in  every  nation ;  and  he 
shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  separates  the 
sheep  from  the  goats,  placing  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand  and  the 
goats  on  the  left.    To  those  on  the  right  hand  he  will  say : 

"  'Come,  ye  of  whom  my  Father  approves,  enter  into  the  realm 
divine !  For  I  was  hungry,  and  you  gave  me  food ;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  you  gave  me  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  you  entertained  me ; 
naked,  and  you  clothed  me;  I  was  sick,  and  you  watched  over  me; 
I  was  in  prison,  and  you  visited  me.' 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  127 

"They  will  answer  him  : 

"  'O  King  most  glorious,  when  could  we  have  done  these  humble 
services  to  thee  ?' 

"Then  will  he  answer  them: 

"  'Inasmuch  as  you  did  them  to  even  the  humblest  of  your  fellow- 
men,  you  did  them  unto  me.' 

"And  to  those  on  the  left  hand  he  will  say : 

"  'Depart  from  me,  ye  the  rejected,  into  the  outer  darkness.  For 
I  was  hungry,  and  you  fed  me  not ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  you  gave  me 
no  drink ;  naked,  and  you  clothed  me  not ;  sick  and  in  prison,  and 
you  visited  me  not.' 

"Then  will  they  also  answer : 

"  'O  King,  when  did  we  see  thee  in  need,  and  not  minister  to 
thee?' 

"He  will  answer  them : 

"  'Inasmuch  as  you  did  not  these  services  to  your  fellow-men, 
even  the  lowly,  you  did  them  not  to  me.' 

"And  the  rejected  shall  go  away  into  darkness  and  oblivion ;  but 
the  accepted  shall  abide  in  the  light  of  life  eternal." 

COMMENTARY 

The  last  judgment,  as  here  depicted,  is  the  summing-up  by  the 
incarnating  Self,  at  the  end  of  its  cycle  of  earth-lives,  of  all  that 
the  soul  has  done  during  the  period  of  evolution.  Through  the 
long  and  weary  ages  the  soul  has  been  incarnated  successively  in 
every  nation,  passing  through  all  experiences  of  human  existence. 
All  these  earth-lives,  the  personalities  that  the  true  Ego  has  assumed 
during  the  generative  cycle,  are  now  reviewed,  and  every  pure  and 
noble  element  of  character  in  them  is  revivified,  while  all  that  is 
unworthy  is  obliterated  from  the  eternal  memory.  In  a  lesser  way, 
the  soul,  after  each  incarnation,  passes  judgment  upon  all  that  was 
done  during  that  life-time.  In  the  Apocalypse  both  these  judg- 
ments are  allegorically  described,  and  the  subject  is  more  fully 
treated  than  it  is  here.  This  last  judgment  follows  the  crucifixion; 
and  as  it  could  not  be  fittingly  represented  in  the  action  of  the  drama, 
it  is  therefore  introduced  in  a  discourse. 


128  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

IV 

THE  INITIATION  BY  EARTH-REGENERATIVE 
DEGREE;  PLANETARY 

I.     The  Energizing  of  the  Forces  for  the  Final  Ordeal 

Icsous  and  His  Companions  Make  Preparations  for  the  Feast  of 
the  Vernal  Equinox 

[Mk.  xiv.  12.     Lk.  xxii.  8.     Mk.  xiv.  13-16] 

On  the  first  day  of  the  festival  of  the  vernal  equinox,  when  the 
ritualists  sacrificed  a  young  ram,  the  disciples  of  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Where  do  you  wish  that  we  should  go  and  make  ready  for  you 
to  celebrate  the  equinoctial  feast?" 

He  chose  Simon  and  Andreas,  and  said  to  them : 

"Go  to  the  western  gate,  and  a  man  bearing  a  water-pitcher  will 
meet  you.  Follow  him,  and  wherever  he  may  enter,  say  to  the  mas- 
ter of  the  house,  'The  Teacher  says,  "Where  is  there  a  dining-room 
in  which  I  may  celebrate  the  equinoctial  feast  with  my  disciples?"  ' 
And  he  will  show  you  a  commodious  dining-room  on  the  upper 
floor.     Make  ready  for  us  at  that  place." 

The  two  disciples  went  forth,  and  came  to  the  gate,  and  every- 
thing befell  as  he  had  foretold ;  and  they  made  preparations  for  the 
feast. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  solar  cult  four  great  feasts  were  held,  celebrating  the 
beginning  of  each  of  the  four  seasons.  When  the  sun,  in  ancient 
times,  crossed  the  equator  in  Taurus,  bulls  were  sacrificed;  and 
when,  owing  to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  the  crossing  took 
place  in  Aries,  rams  were  offered  up.  These  sacrifices  and  cere- 
monies belonged  to  the  exoteric  ritualism  of  the  priests  and  the  rab- 
ble. The  coming  of  Spring  was  celebrated  more  beautifully  by  the 
Athenians  with  the  Anthesteria,  or  three  days'  festival  of  Dionysos. 

The  text  of  Luke  gives  Petros  and  loannes  as  the  two  disciples 
who  were  sent  to  meet  the  Water-carrier;  but  loannes  is  not  con- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  129 

cerned  with  that  sign,  while  Andreas  is  the  Regent  of  Aquarius. 
The  "man  carrying  a  water-jug"  is  the  Regent  of  the  Aquarius- 
quarter  of  the  zodiac,  which  consists  of  the  signs  Capricornus, 
Aquarius  and  Pisces ;  and  this  quarter  being  considered  as  his 
"house,"  the  "upper  floor"  is  the  sign  Pisces,  and  this  sign  im- 
mediately precedes  Aries  and  the  equinoctial  point.  The  word 
oiKoBeaTroTrj^;,  "master  of  the  house,"  used  in  the  text,  is  the  Greek 
astrological  term  for  the  ruling  planet  of  a  zodiacal  division.  The 
descriptive  phrase,  "a  man  carrying  a  jug  of  water,"  is  equivalent 
to  Hydrochoos,  the  constellation  of  the  Water-pourer.  In  Matthciv, 
where  this  portion  of  the  text  has  been  very  thoroughly  revised  in 
the  interest  of  "history,"  the  individual  to  whom  the  two  disciples 
are  sent  is  called  "So-and-so"  (Setp-a),  and  all  allusions  to  his  being 
a  house-lord,  and  to  the  water-pitcher,  and  the  house  and  its  room 
on  the  upper  floor,  have  been  carefully  expunged.  In  the  interest 
of  symbolism,  the  vague  direction,  "Go  to  the  city,"  is  here  changed 
to,  "Go  to  the  western  gate." 

The  Flesh  and  Blood  of  the  Logos— the  Elements  and  Forces  of 
the  Immortal  Body 

[Mk.  xiv.  17,  22-25] 

When  it  was  evening,  lesous  came  with  his  twelve  companions  to 
the  house  of  the  Water-pourer;  and  as  they  reclined  at  table,  he 
took  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  having  consecrated  it,  he  broke  it  in  twelve 
pieces,  and  giving  them  to  the  disciples,  he  said : 

"Take  them :  this  is  my  flesh  which  is  portioned  among  you." 

Then  he  took  his  cup  and  filled  it  with  wine ;  and  having  poured 
out  a  libation,  he  held  aloft  the  cup,  and  said : 

"This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  life.  Of  a  truth  I  say  to  you. 
Nevermore  shall  I  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  until  that  day  when 
I  drink  it  new  in  the  realm  appointed  to  me  by  the  Father." 

COMMENTARY 

The  incidents  of  the  concluding  portion  of  the  drama  mark  a 
complete  circuit  of  the  zodiac.     The  entry  of  lesous  into  the  city, 


130  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

when  riding  the  Ass,  which  belongs  in  the  constellation  Cancer, 
refers  to  the  sun  traversing  the  Leo-quarter  of  the  zodiac,  from  the 
summer  solstice  to  the  autumnal  equinox;  the  blasting  of  the  fig- 
tree  relates  to  his  further  progress  through  the  Scorpio-quarter,  to 
the  winter  solstice;  at  the  '"last  supper"  he  has  passed  through  the 
Aquarius-quarter,  to  the  point  of  the  vernal  equinox;  and  his  cruci- 
fixion, and  resurrection  ''after  three  days,"  relate  to  the  traversing 
of  the  Taurus-quarter,  which  completes  the  circuit.  The  first  quar- 
ter of  this  mystic  circuit  is  that  of  purification:  lesous  purifies  the 
temi)le.  The  second  quarter  marks  the  attainment  of  the  lost  state 
of  childhood :  lesous  blasts  the  fig-tree.  The  third  quarter  is  that  of 
the  perfect  formation  of  the  nascent  solar  body:  lesous  apportions 
his  flesh  and  blood  among  the  twelve  companions — the  forces  and 
elements  of  that  "body  of  the  resurrection."  The  fourth  quarter  is 
that  of  the  new  birth,  the  attainment  of  the  divine  state :  from  the 
tomb  of  material  life  lesous  rises  glorified  in  his  eternal  vesture. 

This  feast,  in  which  lesous  figuratively  apportions  his  flesh  and 
blood  among  the  twelve  companions,  represents  allegorically  the 
perfecting  of  the  as  yet  unborn  solar  body.  As  in  the  banquets  in 
the  houses  of  Simon  and  of  loudas,  the  feast  is  made  the  occasion, 
in  characteristic  Greek  style,  for  discourse  and  discussion ;  but  in 
the  mutilated  text  of  the  Sy}ioptics  undue  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
prediction  concerning  loudas,  and  passages  which  clearly  belong 
here  have  been  transferred  to  other  places  in  the  narrative.  In 
Luke,  however,  the  account  is  more  complete  and  more  orderly  than 
in  the  others. 


lesous  Appoints  Twelve  Thrones  to  His  Companions— the  Centres  of  the 
Twelve  Ruling  Powers 

[Mk.  X.  35,  37-40.    Alatt.  xvi.  18,  19.    Mk.  x.  41-44.    Lk.  xxii.  27-30] 

Then,  having  tasted  of  the  cup,  he  passed  it  first  to  loannes  and 
lakdbos.  But  they,  the  twin  Sons  of  Thunder,  ere  they  drank  of 
the  cup,  said  to  him : 

"Master,  grant  us  to  be  seated,  one  on  your  right  hand  and  the 
other  on  your  left  hand,  Avhen  in  your  glory  you  are  throned." 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  131 

But  lesous  said  to  them  : 

"Dare  ye  drink  the  cup  which  I  drink,  and  undergo  the  lustration 
which  I  am  to  undergo?" 

They  answered  him : 

"We  dare!" 

Said  lesous  to  them : 

"You  shall  drink  the  cup  which  I  drink,  and  undergo  the  lustral 
rite  which  I  undergo ;  but 't  is  not  for  me  to  assign  to  you  the  thrones 
on  my  right  hand  and  my  left  hand,  because  you  are  the  two  disci- 
ples for  whom  they  have  been  prepared  by  my  Father.  For  you  are 
the  guardians  of  the  two  gates  of  the  netherworld,  the  gate  of  birth 
and  the  gate  of  death;  therefore  I  shall  give  you  the  keys  both  of 
the  generative  sphere  and  of  the  heaven-world ;  and  whatever  soul 
you  may  bind  in  the  heaven-world  shall  descend  to  its  prison  on 
earth,  and  whatever  soul  you  may  set  free  on  earth  shall  ascend  to 
its  heavenly  home." 

Then  the  Sons  of  Thunder  drank  of  the  cup,  and  so  also  did  all 
the  others.  But  the  ten,  having  heard  the  promise  spoken  by  lesous, 
were  inclined  to  be  envious  of  their  two  brothers,  loannes  and  Iak5- 
bos.    Therefore  said  lesous  to  them  : 

"You  know  that  those  who  are  reputed  to  rule  over  the  common 
people  have  legal  authority  to  govern  them,  and  their  great  ones 
domineer  over  them.  But  among  you  it  is  not  so :  for,  as  brothers 
and  sisters,  you  are  of  equal  rank;  and  now  as  you  recline  at  table, 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  you  as  the  one  who  serves.  When  I  come  into 
the  realm  which  the  Father  has  appointed  to  me,  you  shall  sit  on 
twelve  thrones  and  rule  over  its  twelve  great  regions." 

COMMENTARY 

Of  the  two  principal  "gates"  of  the  zodiac  Porphyrios  says  (Caz'e 
of  the  Nymphs,  xi)  :  "Theologists  assert  that  these  two  gates  are 
Cancer  and  Capricornus ;  but  Plato  calls  them  entrances.  And  the- 
ologists say  of  these  that  Cancer  is  the  gate  through  which  souls 
descend,  and  Capricornus  that  through  which  they  ascend.  Cancer 
is  indeed  northern,  and  adapted  to  descent ;  but  Capricornus  is 
southern,  and  adapted  to  ascent."    Thus  the  northern  signs,  he  says, 


132  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"pertain  to  souls  descending  into  generation" ;  and  the  Milky  Way 
(yaXa^iag)  was  "so  called  from  the  milk  with  which  the  souls  are 
nourished  when  they  fall  into  generation."  But  the  southern  gate 
is  that  through  which  souls  departing  from  the  generative  sphere 
"ascend  to  the  gods."  In  Plato's  allegory  (Republic,  x.  14)  Er 
saw  "two  openings,  adjoining  one  another,  in  the  earth,  and  exactly 
opposite  them  two  openings  above  in  the  heaven" ;  and  "he  beheld 
the  souls  on  one  side  taking  their  departure  at  one  of  the  openings 
in  the  heaven  and  the  corresponding  opening  in  the  earth,  after 
judgment  had  been  passed  upon  them ;  while  at  the  other  two  open- 
ings he  saw  them  arriving,  squalid  and  dirty,  or  pure  and  bright, 
according  as  they  ascended  from  earth,  or  descended  from  heaven." 
The  solstitial  "gates"  pertain  to  the  sphere  of  generation  ;  but  the 
gate  of  Aries,  the  vernal  equinox,  is,  according  to  this  symbolism, 
the  entrance  to  eternal  life,  while  the  autumnal  equinox,  or  Libra- 
gate,  signifies  the  reverse.  When  the  nights  have  become  longer 
than  the  days,  the  powers  of  darkness  appear  to  be  gaining  the 
ascendancy. 

As  regents  of  the  northern  and  southern  (juarters,  loannes  and 
lakobos  are  the  wardens  of  the  solstitial  gates;  while  Simon  and 
Andreas,  as  regents  of  the  eastern  and  western  quarters,  hold  the 
keys  of  the  equinoctial  gates.  In  the  Chhandogya  Upanishad  (iii. 
13)  the  five  pranas  are  termed  "the  keepers  of  the  gates  of  the 
heaven-world."  But  in  the  historicized  version  of  the  lesous-mythos 
"Petros"  (Simon)  is  given  all  the  keys,  and  is  deprived  of  his  great- 
est honor,  that  of  carrying  the  cross  of  lesous,  that  service  being 
performed,  according  to  the  falsified  text,  by  "a  man  of  Cyrene, 
Simon  by  name."  The  discussion  between  lesous  and  his  compan- 
ions relates  to  the  respective  functions  of  the  twelve  ruling  powers, 
and  the  conclusion  arrived  at  is  that  all  are  necessary  and  may 
therefore  be  regarded  as  of  equal  importance. 

The  twin  Sons  of  Thunder,  as  personified  electro-vital  forces  (the 
positive  and  negative  currents  of  the  sacred  triple  fire),  are  first  to 
receive  the  cup  of  the  Master,  and  they  are  given  the  thrones  at  the 
right  and  the  left  hand.  These  twins  are,  of  course,  virtually  in- 
separable, and  so  also  are  Simon- Andreas  and  lesous-Ioudas. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  133 

lesous  Foretells  That  All  Will  Forsake  Him  When  He  Is  Handed  Over  to  be 
Crucified— The  Solitude  of  the  Great  Ordeal 

[Mk.  xiv.  18-20,  27,  29-31,  26.    Lk.  xxii.  39] 

As  they  were  eating,  he  said : 

"This  night  one  of  you  will  hand  me  over  to  the  final  ordeal 
which  is  prefigured  by  this  feast." 

Then  were  they  filled  with  sorrow,  and  they  said  to  him  one  by 
one: 

"  T  is  not  I,  I  hope." 

Said  he  to  them  : 

"  'T  is  one  of  the  five,  he  who  dips  with  me  in  the  one  bowl.  And 
this  very  night  you  will  all  forsake  me." 

But  Simon  said  to  him  : 

"Although  the  others  all  desert  you,  yet  I  shall  not." 

lesous  said  to  him  : 

"Of  a  truth  I  say  to  you,  This  night,  before  the  cock  crows  twice, 
you  will  deny  me  thrice." 

But  Simon,  with  warm  fidelity,  declared  : 

"Not  so!  Never  shall  I  deny  you  or  forsake  you,  even  if  't  is 
necessary  for  me  to  die  with  you." 

And  so  in  turn  said  they  all.  And  when  they  had  chanted  a  paean, 
they  came  out,  and  went,  as  usual,  to  the  mountain  of  the  olive- 
trees. 

COMMENTARY 

At  the  crucifixion  lesous  himself  is  the  sacrificial  Lamb— astro- 
nomically the  Sun  in  Aries,  impaled  on  the  cross  formed  by  the 
ecliptic  intersecting  the  equator.  At  the  feast  of  the  vernal  equinox 
the  twelve  companions  partake  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  slain 
lamb  (or  "young  ram"),  and  lesous  gives  them  the  bread  and  wine 
as  symbols  of  his  own  flesh  and  blood.  Hence  he  is  represented  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel  (vi.  54)  as  saying,  "He  who  devours  my  flesh 
and  drinks  my  blood  has  eternal  life."  This  symbolism  of  rending 
and  devouring  (  rpoyyeiv )  raw  flesh  is  peculiarly  Bakchic ;  and  the 
strange  flesh-eating  rite  is  frequently  mentioned  in  Greek  literature, 
as  in  Euripides,  Bakchai,  139.     The  sign  Aries,  the  place  of  the 


134  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Sun's  exaltation,  pertains  to  lesous  in  a  special  way,  and  as  loudas 
is  the  regent  of  this  sign,  lesous  and  loudas  are  represented  as  eat- 
ing from  the  same  bowl,  both  dipping  in  it.  Inasmuch  as  lesous  is 
crucified  at  a  place  called  "The  Skull,"  and  Aries  astrologically 
corresponds  to  the  head,  the  "bowl"  is  here  an  appropriate  symbol. 
The  highest  of  the  sacred  trances  is  a  state  of  complete  abstrac- 
tion mentally;  therefore  in  the  allegory  the  disciples  are  said  to 
desert  their  Master.  Simon,  as  the  reasoning  power,  denies  that 
Master,  the  pure  undifferentiated  Thought. 

2.     The  Beginning  of  the  Fourth  and  Most  Sacred  Trance 

lesous  and  the  Two  Sons  of  Thunder  Enter  the   Sacred  Enclosure  of  Life— 
The  Highest  Centre  of  the  Two  Fires 

[Mk.  xiv.  32-35.  37-42] 

They  ascended  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  and  came  to  the 
sacred  field  at  its  summit ;  and  then  lesous  said  to  his  companions : 

"Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  to  the  altar  for  solemn  meditation." 

He  took  with  him  loannes  and  lakobos;  and  he  began  to  be 
absorbed  and  withdraw^n  into  himself.  Said  he  to  the  two  dis- 
ciples : 

"My  soul  Is  isolated,  as  at  the  hour  of  death.  Abide  ye  here  and 
stay  aw^ake." 

Then  he  went  forward  a  little,  to  the  altar,  and  meditated  in  the 
solitude.  Returning,  he  found  the  two  disciples  asleep;  and  he  said 
to  them : 

"Awake!  Could  you  not  remain  awake  one  hour?  Keep  watch, 
lest  you  fail  in  this  ordeal.  Strong  is  the  eager  spirit,  but  feeble 
the  body  of  clay!" 

Again  he  went  to  the  altar;  and  again  returning  found  them 
asleep,  and  awakened  them,  repeating  the  same  words.  He  went  a 
third  time,  and  on  returning  said  to  them : 

"Are  you  still  sleeping,  and  taking  your  rest?  Sleep  ne'er  lays 
hands  on  me,  and  soon  I  shall  be  free  from  Death  himself.  My 
hour  has  come.  Arise,  let  us  be  going ;  for  he  who  hands  me  over 
is  at  hand." 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  135 

COMMENTARY 

The  "field"  (-^copLOv)  of  the  text  was  most  certainly  a  sacred 
enclosure  (re/xei/os),  into  which  lesous  entered  to  engage  in  medi- 
tation. Such  temnoed  hills  were  many  in  ancient  da3^s.  A  hill  or 
mountain,  when  dedicated  to  a  God,  was  marked  off  at  the  summit, 
forming  a  sacred  precinct,  or  enclosure,  in  wiiich  usually  an  altar 
()8w/A0S  )  was  erected;  and  the  trees  in  the  enclosure  were  carefully 
preserved.  These  sacred  fields  were  devoted  to  religious  uses,  and 
holy  men  resorted  to  them  to  contemplate.  In  the  allegory  the 
mountain  of  the  olive-trees  corresponds  to  the  sign  Cancer ;  and  the 
"Enclosure  of  Life,"  as  it  was  called  by  the  ancients,  is  the  quad- 
rangle {ttXivOiov)  formed  by  the  stars  y8,  y,  17,  and  t,  of  Ursa 
Minor,  which  is  the  northern  paranatellon  of  Cancer.  The  pole- 
star,  which,  as  Hipparchos  says,  "is  the  pivot  (ttoXos)  of  the  kos- 
mos,"  was  said  to  be  the  Lord  of  this  Enclosure.  The  quadrangle 
of  Ursa  Minor  was  also  called  the  Chariot  {^ A.Tnjvr}) ,  while  the 
similar  figure  in  Ursa  Major  was  the  Wain,  or  \\'agon  {"AfjLa^a). 
The  two  constellations  were  not  known  as  Bears  ('ApKTOi)  in  the 
older  system.  The  Pole-star,  as  a  reduplication  of  the  Sun,  sym- 
bolizes the  Eternal  Self  in  man;  the  Chariot  (Ursa  Minor),  also 
called  the  Enclosure  of  Life,  represents  the  causal  body;  and  the 
Wagon  (Ursa  Major)  stands  for  the  physical  body.  The  contour 
of  each  of  these  two  constellations  is  marked  out  by  seven  stars, 
which  represent  the  vital  centres.  The  third  vehicle  of  the  soul,  the 
psychic  body,  has  for  its  sign  the  Ship,  Argo  Navis.  But  tlie 
"city"  of  the  allegory  also  stands  for  the  physical  body:  the  entry 
of  lesous  into  the  city  signifies  a  divine  influx,  and  the  initiation 
takes  place  on  the  material  plane.  Here  in  the  Enclosure,  however, 
lesous  is,  for  the  time,  in  the  consciousness  of  the  causal  body,  at  the 
divine  centre,  through  the  action  of  the  kimdalim.  The  two  cur- 
rents, tdd  and  pingala,  do  not  reach  the  seventh  centre,  but  bifurcate 
at  the  sixth,  whereupon  the  central  current,  siishumna,  comes  into 
play  and  passes  on  to  the  seventh  centre.  The  two  currents  are  per- 
sonified by  loannes  and  lakobos,  who  fall  asleep  three  times,  as 
there  is  a  temporary  cessation  of  the  current,  apparently,  at  each  of 


136  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  three  lower  somatic  divisions.  At  the  fourth  division  it  is  time 
for  the  third  current  to  energize;  hence  loudas  now  appears  upon 
the  stage,  his  cue  to  enter  being  the  words  just  spoken  by  lesous. 

3.     The  Passing  into  the  Final  Stage  of  the 
Most  Sacred  Trance 

The  Soul  of  the  Entranced  Is  Handed  Over  to  Judgment 

[Mk.  xiv.  43-45.    Matt.  xxvi.  49,  50.    Lk.  xxii.  52,  53.    Matt.  xxvi.  56. 
Mk.  xiv.  51,  52] 

And  even  as  he  was  speaking,  came  loudas,  and  with  him  came 
a  crowd  armed  with  swords  and  clubs,  sent  by  the  head-priest. 
Now,  he  who  was  handing  lesous  over  had  given  them  a  concerted 
signal,  saying: 

"That  one  whom  I  shall  kiss,  't  is  he.  Take  him,  and  lead  him 
away  safely." 

And  now,  going  up  to  lesous,  he  said,  "Master,  Master!"  and 
kissed  him  again  and  again.     And  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Comrade,  perform  the  duty  assigned  to  you." 

Then  they  apprehended  lesous.  Said  he  to  the  priests  and  tem- 
ple-guards : 

"Have  you  come  out  against  me  with  swords  and  clubs,  as  if  to 
capture  a  bandit  ?  You  dared  not  raise  your  hands  against  me  when 
I  was  with  you  in  the  temple  day  after  day.  But  this  is  your  hour, 
when  darkness  reigns !" 

Then  all  his  disciples  deserted  him  and  fled,  save  loudas,  who 
tried  to  go  along  with  him.  Now,  loudas  was  wearing  only  a  linen 
cloth,  which  was  wrapped  about  his  loins ;  and  when  the  young  men 
seized  him  he  tore  himself  away  from  them,  leaving  the  linen  cloth 
in  their  hands,  and  fled  naked. 

COMMENTARY 

The  coming  of  loudas  to  the  sacred  enclosure  allegorically  marks 
the  highest  stage  of  the  mystic  trance  (samddhi) ,  the  lucid  vision  of 
the  seer.  But  before  the  soul  receives  final  liberation,  its  merits  and 
demerits  must  be  decided  upon,  and  all  its  past  rises  up  against  it. 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


137 


Hence,  in  the  ritualistic  representation,  loudas  places  lesous  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  the  powers  of  darkness. 

The  (TLvhcjv,  "linen  cloth,"  was  a  sort  of  veil,  of  filmy  muslin. 
used  in  the  Mysteries.     When  handling  the  sacred  objects  in  the 


Hephaistos,  Kratos  and  Bia  Chaining  Prometheus 


After  Flaxman 


ceremony  called  "the  giving  in  turn  of  the  sacred  objects"  (irapd- 
Socrtg  Tcov  lepwv),  the  mystai  were  permitted  to  see  them  only 
through  this  veil.  Here  loudas  (whose  name  has  been  dishonestly 
expunged  from  the  text  in  this  passage)  wears  the  veil  as  his  only 
garment.  When  the  lower  powers  strive  to  apprehend  him,  they 
retain  only  the  veil,  while  he,  the  naked  abstract  truth  personified, 
escapes  from  their  grasp.  Thus  w-earing  the  sindon  about  his  loins, 
loudas  figures  as  an  athlete.  In  Mark  xiv.  51  his  name  has  been 
expunged,  and  he  is  referred  to  as  "a  certain  young  man"  who  was 


138  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

a  follower  of  lesous,  and  who  offers  resistance  to  arrest.  This 
incident  is  suppressed  by  the  compilers  of  the  other  Gospels;  but 
they  retain  the  implausible  story  about  one  of  the  disciples  drawing 
a  sword  and  cutting  off  the  ear  of  the  high-priest's  servant.  Ac- 
cording to  John,  the  swordsman  was  ''Simon  Peter."  Very  proba- 
bly Simon  was  named  also  in  the  Synoptics,  the  story  having  been 
invented  to  add  glory  to  the  patron  saint  of  the  church,  and  the 
name  afterw^ards  suppressed  by  later  "historians"  who  had  decided 
that  the  incident  of  the  sword  was  rather  discreditable  to  "Peter." 
loudas  is  surnamed  'lo-KapLcorr]^,  a  word  which,  by  juggling  with 
the  Hebrew  alphabet,  is  made  to  mean  "of  Kerioth,"  but  which 
some  authorities  translate  as  "hired."  More  probably  it  should  be 
l(Txvp6Tr}<;,  "Might,"  even  as  the  assistants  of  Hephaistos  in  the 
crucifixion  of  Prometheus  are  named  Bia,  "Force,"  and  Kparo?, 
"Strength." 

4.     The  Trial  in  the  Night— The  Plane  of 
Subjective  Perception 

The  Seership  of  lesous  Is  Mockingly  Tested 
[Mk.  xiv.  53-59,  60,  61.    Matt.  xxvi.  64-66.    Lk.  xxii.  63,  64] 

They  led  lesous  away  to  the  head-priest ;  and  the  priests  and  the 
old  men  met  as  a  council.  And  Simon,  having  fled,  had  made  a 
detour,  and  by  running  had  entered  the  court  of  the  head-priest  in 
advance  of  them;  and  he  was  sitting  with  the  servants,  warming 
himself  at  the  blaze  of  the  fire.  Now,  the  head-priest  and  the  wdiole 
council  were  searching  out  evidence  against  lesous,  to  justify  in- 
flicting on  him  the  death  penalty.  For  many  were  offering  false 
and  conflicting  testimony  against  him ;  and  some  of  them  made  mis- 
leading and  mendacious  statements,  saying : 

"We  heard  him  say,  *I  shall  destroy  this  man-made  temple,  and 
in  three  days  I  shall  build  another  by  superhuman  means.'  " 

But  even  as  to  this  their  statements  were  contradictory.  Then 
said  the  head-priest  to  lesous  : 

"Have  you  no  answer  to  what  these  witnesses  testify  against 
you?" 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  139 

But  lesous  stood  mute,  refusing  to  reply.  Again  the  head-priest 
interrogated  him : 

"You  are  the  'king  of  the  starry  realm,'  are  you  not?" 

Said  lesous : 

"  'T  is  you  who  have  said  it." 

Then  the  head-priest  rent  his  garments,  and  said  to  the  council : 

*'He  arrogates  to  himself  divine  authority!  What  further  proof 
do  we  need  ?  You  have  heard  his  blasphemous  claim  :  what  is  your 
decision?" 

They  answered : 

"He  deserves  the  death  penalty." 

And  the  men  who  were  guarding  lesous  made  him  the  butt  of  a 
children's  game:  having  blindfolded  him,  they  kept  giving  him 
slaps,  and  saying  to  him  : 

"Tell  who  it  is  that  struck  you— prove  your  seership." 

COMMENTARY 

This  trial  of  lesous  is  a  semi-farcical  ritualistic  performance,  as 
when  in  a  secret  society  the  candidate  for  initiation  is  placed  on  his 
defence  against  trumped-up  charges,  to  test  his  patience  and  self- 
control.  The  keenest  satire,  however,  is  here  directed  at  the  exoteric 
priests,  the  believers  in  an  anthropomorphic  God,  who  are  horrified 
at  the  "blasphemy"  of  lesous  when  he  asserts  his  innate  Divinity. 
Now,  a  "religion"  that  denies  the  Godhood  of  Man  is  the  very 
worst  form  of  irreligion.  Always  it  is  these  fanatical  devotees  of  a 
fancied  extra-cosmical  Deity  who  seek  to  put  to  death  the  divine 
principle  in  humanity.  Towering  above  these  ignoble  priests  stands 
the  sublime  figure  of  lesous,  the  typical  Man,  firm  in  the  faith  that 
he  is  God's  own  Son  and  King  of  the  star-strewn  Universe. 

As  part  of  the  ritual,  the  guards  play  "blind  man's  buff"  with 
lesous,  bantering  him,  to  test  his  power  of  psychic  vision.  In  this 
incident  it  is  the  votaries  of  psychism  who  are  satirized.  The  pos- 
session of  the  psychic  faculties  is  no  evidence  of  spirituality:  a  man 
may  be  able  to  use  all  the  five  psychic  senses,  and  yet  be  incapable 
of  spiritual  perception  and  cognition ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
one  may,  without  having  developed  the  psychic  senses,  receive  clear 


140  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

intuitions  of  spiritual  truths.  The  childish  game  in  the  allegory 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  exercise  of  the  psychic  senses  is  a  mere 
puerility,  and  not  a  means  of  acquiring  true  wisdom.  True  seer- 
ship  is  the  faculty  of  direct  cognition,  and  is  beyond  all  sense-per- 
ception. The  senses,  psychic  and  physical,  perceive  only  things 
objective. 

Simon  Denies  His  Master— The  Frailty  of  Reason 
[Mk.  xiv.  66-69.    Matt.  xxvi.  72-74.    Mk.  xiv.  72] 

Meanwhile  Simon  was  sitting  in  the  courtyard  below.  Came  one 
of  the  head-priest's  servant-girls:  and  noticing  Simon  warming 
himself,  she  looked  at  him  closely  and  said : 

"You  too  were  one  of  the  companions  of  lesous." 

But  he  denied  it,  saying : 

'T  do  not  know,  nor  can  I  guess,  what  you  are  talking  about." 

And  he  went  out  into  the  porch,  in  the  shadow ;  and  a  cock 
crowed.  The  servant-girl  saw  him  there,  and  she  said  to  the  by- 
standers : 

"This  man  is  one  of  them." 

Again  he  denied  it,  swearing  a  solemn  oath.  After  a  while  the 
bystanders  approached  Simon,  and  said : 

"You  certainly  are  one  of  them ;  for  your  high-flown  speech  be- 
trays you." 

But  he  affirmed  with  an  oath : 

"I  do  not  know  the  man." 

And  directly  a  second  time  the  cock  crowed.  Simon,  recalling 
the  w^ords  of  lesous,  "Before  the  cock  crows  twice,  you  will  deny 
me  thrice,"  gave  way  to  bitter  tears. 

COMMENTARY 

Simdn,  as  a  personification  of  the  reasoning  faculty,  is  the  nega- 
tionist of  abstract  thought.  Ratiocination,  the  mental  process  of 
deducing  consequences  from  premises,  pertains  to  the  three  worlds 
of  form,  but  not  to  the  formless  world  of  abstract  ideas.  But  when 
he  repents  his  unfaithfulness  Simon  becomes  the  philosophic  reason, 
a  true  noetic  power.  The  cock  was  considered  a  solar  bird.  After  the 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


141 


first  denial,  which  signifies  the  negation  on  the  lowest  mental  plane, 
that  of  the  material  brain-consciousness,  it  gives  a  warning  crow  ; 
and  after  the  denials  signifying  negation  on  the  other  planes  it  again 
gives  reminder  of  the  Sun,  the 
Nous.  In  MatfJiczv  and  Luke  the 
cock  is  permitted  to  crow  but  once, 
the  "historians"  evidently  perceiv- 
ing that  the  first  crow  (taking  the 
story  literally)  should  have  re- 
called to  Simon's  mind  the  pre- 
diction made  by  lesous. 

5.     The  Trial  in  the  Daytime— 
The  Plane  of  Objective  Action 

lesous  Stands  Mute  before  the  Gov- 
ernor—The Silence  of  the  Initiate 

[Mk.  XV.  1-5] 

At  dawn  of  day  the  priests  and 
the  old  men  constituting  the  coun- 
cil, after  due  deliberation,  having 
put  lesous  in  chains,  carried  him 
away,  and  handed  him  over  to  the 
tetrarch,  saying: 

"We  found  this  man  proclaim- 
ing that  he  himself  is  an  Anointed  King." 

Then  the  tetrarch  asked  him,  saying: 

"So  you  are  the  'king  of  the  starry  realm'?" 

lesous  answered  him : 

"  'T  is  you  who  say  it." 

The  priests  kept  making  accusations  against  him.     The  tetrarch 
again  questioned  him,  saying : 

"Will  you  not   answer?     Look  you,   they  are   bringing  many 
charges  against  you." 

But  lesous,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  tetrarch,  made  no  further 
reply. 


Hermes  and  Solar  Bird 


142  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  silence  preserved  by  lesous  indicates  the  oath  of  inviolable 
secrecy  by  which  initiates  of  every  degree  were  bound.  If  the  trial 
were  historical,  his  silence  would  be  unaccountable. 

The  appellative  6  XpLO-Tos  ("the  Anointed"),  as  applied  to  lesous, 
is  simply  equivalent  to  "the  King" :  for  only  priests  and  kings  were 
anointed,  and  lesous  was  certainly  not  a  priest.  But  the  high  initi- 
ates were  also  called  "kings,"  and  the  Athenian  Archon  who  super- 
vised the  Mysteries  had  the  title  Basilcus,  "King."  Before  the 
crucifixion  lesous  is  the  Chrcstos,  the  worthy  candidate ;  after  the 
crucifixion,  having  entered  into  the  realm  appointed  to  him  by  the 
Father,  he  becomes  the  Christos,  the  King. 

The  "Son  of  Time"  Is  Freed— The  Self  of  Illusion 
[Mk.  XV.  6-9,  11-15] 

As  one  of  the  rites  at  this  feast,  a  prisoner  was  released  to  the 
people,  whomsoever  they  petitioned  for,  and  to  him  they  gave  his 
freedom ;  but  they  received  also  another  prisoner,  one  condemned  to 
death,  and  him  they  made  the  mock-king  of  the  feast  until  he  was 
raised  upon  the  cross.  And  they  came  to  the  tetrarch,  and  they 
cried  out : 

"lesous!    lesous!    Let  lesous  be  freed !" 

The  tetrarch  answered  them,  saying : 

"Is  it  your  will  that  I  release  to  you  this  'King  of  the  Starry 
Realm'?" 

But  they  cried  out : 

"No ;  let  him  be  crucified  !  It  is  lesous  Barabbas  whom  we  desire 
to  have  freed." 

This  lesous  Barabbas,  who  was  lying  bound  in  prison,  was  one 
who  had  committed  many  crimes,  and  was  under  sentence  of  death 
for  murder.     Said  then  the  tetrarch  : 

"Seeing  that  these  two  men  have  the  same  name,  I  am  not  un- 
willing to  free  them  both." 

But  the  people,  prompted  by  the  priests,  cried  out : 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  143 

"Set  lesous  Barabbas  free;  and  let  us  crown  this  other  lesous  as 
the  mock-king  of  the  feast,  and  then  let  him  be  crucified." 

So  the  tetrarch  released  to  them  lesous  Barabbas,  and  handed 
over  lesous  to  be  their  mock-king  until  he  was  crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

Prisoners  were  released 
at  the  Attic  Thesmo- 
phoria,  Dionysia  and  Pan- 
athenaia,  and  presumably 
also  at  the  Dionysiac  An- 
thesteria  and  other  state 
festivals.  At  the  Satur- 
nalian  festival,  derived  by 
the  Romans  from  the  Hel- 
lenic Kronia,  slaves  were 
given  their  freedom  while 
the  festivities  lasted,  and 
the  mock-king 
was  treated 
with  derision. 
According  to 
Dio  Chrysos- 
tom,  the  mock-king  of  the 
Sakaia  was  chosen  from 
among  criminals  con- 
demned to  death,  and 
after  being  feasted  royally 
for  three  days,  he  was 
stripped,  scourged  and 
crucified.  Such  exoteric 
ceremonies,  often  hideous, 

brutal  and  indecent,  appear  to  have  been  profane  travesties  on  the 
portions  of  the  dramatic  representations  in  the  Mysteries  which 
reached  the  rabble  through  renegades  from  the  lower  degrees.  It  is 
only  by  such  perfidy  that  the  notes  on  the  Mystery-Drama  could  have 


Helios 


144  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  compilers  of  the  Synoptics.  The  story  of 
the  crucifixion  of  lesoiis,  even  in  the  pseudo-Jewish  form  given  it  in 
the  Gospels,  is  clearly  descriptive  of  a  Greek  festival  of  Dionysos. 
lesous,  as  the  mock-king,  is  taken  to  represent  the  God  of  the  fes- 
tival, and  is  crowned.  But  the  crown  should  be  of  ivy;  and  the 
crown  of  thorns  belongs  on  the  darkened  Sun,  who  is  supposed  to 
be  crucified  on  the  cross  of  the  equinox. 

In  the  received  text  the  name  of  the  malefactor  who  was  liber- 
ated is  simply  "Barabbas" ;  but,  according  to  Origines  and  other 
reliable  authorities,  some  of  the  ancient  manuscripts  gave  the  name 
as  "lesous  Barabbas,"  and  this  reading  appears  in  the  Armenian 
version.  Bar-abbas,  a  word  of  Semitic  derivation,  signifies  "son  of 
a  father"  ;  it  is  probably  a  substitute  for  "son  of  Time,"  as  this 
lesous  personifies  the  false  Ego  or  illusory  personality  of  the  tem- 
poral world.  It  is,  allegorically,  the  "murderer"  of  the  Real.  In 
the  "historicized"  version,  Pilate  (who  has  no  place  in  the  allegory) 
takes  the  part  that  properly  belongs  to  the  tetrarch,  the  Regent  of 
the  Scorpio-quarter  of  the  zodiac;  but  in  working  up  the  story  the 
"historians"  have  made  Pilate  a  weak  character,  a  mere  caricature 
of  a  Roman  governor.  As  chief  magistrate,  he  asks  the  rabble  what 
he  shall  do  with  lesous,  and  then  because  of  their  outcry  sentences 
to  death  a  man  whom  he  has  publicly  proclaimed  to  be  innocent.  He 
then  lays  aside  his  gubernatorial  dignity,  and  assumes  the  office  of 
an  executioner  and  flogs  lesous!  Under  either  Jewish  or  Roman 
law,  the  trial  of  lesous,  as  related  in  the  Gospels,  would  be  a  trav- 
esty on  judicial  procedure. 

The  Kingship  of  lesous  Is  Mockingly  Acknowledged 
[Matt,  xxvii.  27-32] 

So  they  led  lesous  outside  the  judgment-hall ;  and  having  taken 
off  his  chains,  they  stripped  him  of  his  garments,  and  robed  him  in 
flowers  which  they  had  plaited.  Then  they  placed  on  his  head  a 
crown  of  ivy;  and  in  his  right  hand  they  placed  a  narthex,  tipped 
with  a  pine-cone  and  wrapped  with  a  vine-branch.  And  bowing 
the  knee  before  him,  they  mockingly  saluted  him! 

"Hail,  King  of  the  Starry  Realm!" 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS 


145 


And  they  kept  striking  him  on  the  head  with  their  thyrsi.  While 
they  were  thus  making  sport  of  him,  the  soldiers  came,  bringing 
the  cross,  and  led  him  away  to  crucify  him.  As  they  were  coming 
out,  they  chanced  upon  Simon,  and  they  pressed  him  into  service  to 
carry  the  cross  of  lesous. 

COMMENTARY 

The  puerility  of  the  psychic  powers  was  ridiculed  in  the  game  of 
"blind  man's  buff"  played  by  the  temple-guards ;  and  here  the  mimic 
coronation  satirizes  the  vanity  of  earthly  greatness  and 
glory.  True  power  and  splendor  pertain  to  the  spir- 
itual Self.  As  a  dramatic  representation,  lesous  is 
made  the  mock-king  of  the  festival,  and  is  given  the 
emblematic  properties  of  Dionysos :  the  kalamos 
("reed")  of  the  falsified  text  should  be  a  narthcx  or 
thyrsos,  a  plant-stalk,  pointed  with  a  pine-cone  and 
decorated  with  ivy  and  vine-leaves,  used  as  a  wand  in 
the  Bakchic  ceremonies.  The  crown  of  thorns  is  a 
distinctive  property  of  Helios,  and  it  should  be  placed 
on  the  Sun,  and  not  on  lesous,  whose  crown  should  be 
the  ivy  chaplet  of  Dionysos.  lesous,  in  the  character 
of  Dionysos,  is  dramatically  crucified  on  earth  syn- 
chronously with  the  crucifixion  of  the  Sun  in  the 
heavens. 

Simon,  as  regent  of  the  sign  Pisces,  carries  the  cross, 
as  it  were,  on  his  back,  since  the  equinox  comes  at  the 
first  point  of  the  next  sign,  Aries.  Similarly  Atlas  (the 
Phoenician  At  el,  "Darkness")  in  the  western  region 
sustains  the  heavens  on  his  shoulders.  In  the  "historicized"  text 
the  attempt  is  made,  b}'^  a  transparent  device,  to  disguise  the  fact  that 
the  cross-bearer  was  Simon  the  disciple.  Simon,  as  the  inferior 
reasoning  faculty,  thrice  denied  his  Master ;  here,  as  the  philosophic 
Reason,  he  carries  the  cross.  When  the  mind  is  kept  centred  on  the 
external  aspects  of  life  it  becomes  materialistic;  but  when  it  is  cen- 
tred on  things  spiritual  it  sustains  the  soul  in  its  effort  to  gain 
emancipation  from  material  conditions. 


4 


Thyrsos 


146  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

6.     The  Crucifixion — The  Mystic  "Anointing"  of  lesous 

lesous.  Crucified  between  Two  Malefactors,  Is  Mocked  by  the 
Priests  and  the  Ral)bie 

[Mk.  XV.  22,  25-27,  29-32.    Lk.  iv.  23.    Mk.  xv.  23.    Lk.  xxiii.  3<>-43. 
Mk.  XV.  40.    Lk.  xxiii.  27,  28] 

They  brouglit  lesous  to  a  place  called  "The  Skull."  It  was  now 
past  the  third  hour,  and  they  crucified  him  at  that  place.  The  in- 
scription naming  his  crime  read  : 

'The  'King  of  the  Starry  Realm.'  " 

With  him  they  crucified  two  bandits,  one  on  his  right  hand,  and 
the  other  on  his  left.  And  the  passers-by  kept  scofiing  at  him,  and 
saying : 

"Aha!  Boaster,  who  would  destroy  the  temple  and  rebuild  it  in 
three  days,  create  for  yourself  a  new  body;  for  the  one  you  have 
must  die  upon  the  cross." 

Likewise  the  priests,  taking  trite  sayings  for  their  texts,  mock- 
ingly preached  at  him : 

"  'Physician,  heal  thyself.'  He  healed  others,  and  saved  them 
from  the  grave;  but  he  's  unable  to  save  himself."  And:  "  'Seeing 
is  believing.'  Let  the  unanointed  'king  of  the  starry  realm'  now 
come  down  from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe." 

The  soldiers  also  mocked  him,  offering  him  wine,  and  saying : 

"O  King  of  the  Feast,  receive  this  cup  of  Lord  Bakchos." 

And  one  of  the  two  malefactors  who  had  been  lashed  to  the  cross 
on  either  side  of  him  taunted  him,  saying: 

"Are  n't  you  really  a  king?    Save  yourself  and  us." 

But  the  other  malefactor  reprehended  him,  saying: 

"Have  you  no  sense  of  comradeship,  seeing  that  you  're  under 
the  same  judgment?  You  and  I  are  receiving  our  just  deserts  for 
the  crimes  we  committed,  but  this  man  has  done  nothing  out  of  the 
way."  And  to  the  Master  he  said,  "Remember  me,  lesous,  when 
you  come  into  your  kingdom." 

Said  lesous  to  him  : 

"Verily  I  say  to  you.  To-day  you  shall  be  with  me  in  the  Gar- 
den of  the  Gods!" 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  147 

His  mother  and  his  sisters  stood  looking  on ;  and  many  women 
in  the  crowd  wept  and  wailed.     lesous  said  to  them : 

"Daughters  of  the  generative  sphere,  weep  not  for  me,  but  weep 
for  yourselves  and  for  your  children." 

COMMENTARY 

The  priests,  as  usual,  are  satirized :  they  take  old  saws  as  texts 
for  their  stupid  attempts  at  wit.  In  the  saying,  "Physician,  heal 
thyself,"  the  Greek  verb  also  signifies  "save."  The  statement  in 
Mark  XV.  23  that  the  soldiers  gave  lesous  wine  drugged  with  myrrh 
appears  to  be  a  "historical"  version  of  an  incident  more  character- 
istic of  the  Bakchic  festival. 

The  two  malefactors  personify  the  dual  nature  which  is  inter- 
mediate between  the  mortal  and  the  immortal,  and  of  which  all  that 
is  pure  and  noble  is  preserved,  while  that  which  is  debased  perishes. 
The  statement  in  Luke  xxiii.  39,  that  the  two  malefactors  were 
"suspended,"  indicates  that  they,  and  lesous  as  well,  were  merely 
bound  to  the  cross  in  the  performance  of  the  drama.  The  verb 
used,  KpefJido-aaO at,  has  the  derivative  KpefidOpa,  a  net  or  similar 
contrivance  used  in  the  performance  of  Greek  tragedy  when  it  be- 
came necessary  to  exhibit  an  actor  or  an  image  of  a  Deity  in  mid- 
air or  in  other  difficult  positions.  The  Gospels  speak  of  but  one 
cross,  not  three  crosses;  and  the  allegory  calls  for  only  one.  The 
"Paradise"  ("park,"  or  "garden")  of  the  garbled  text  is  simply 
the  mythological  Garden  in  the  West,  where  the  seven  daughters 
of  Night  (the  Hesperides)  guarded  the  golden  apples  that  hung 
from  the  Pole-tree,  the  "tree  of  life." 

The  golden  nimbus,  or  "glory,"  which  in  conventional  Christian 
art  (which  copied  it  from  pagan  sources)  surrounds  the  head  of 
lesous,  as  pictorially  represented,  contains  a  cross ;  it  represents  the 
solar  disk.  The  whole  representation  (in  which  the  features  of 
lesous,  although  given  a  mournful  expression,  are  strikingly  sug- 
gestive of  ancient  statues  of  Dionysos,  the  Savior-God)  is  a  cor- 
rect pictograph  of  the  crucified  Sun-God ;  but  it  also  depicts  the  halo 
which  radiates  from  the  brain  when  the  triple  fire  of  the  speirema 
is  active,  the  bifurcating  currents  of  the  fire  forming  the  cross.  The 


148  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

crucifixion  is  in  reality  the  "birth  from  above,"  the  emergence  of 
the  deathless  form,  the  "sola^  body,"  which  is  formed  by  the  crea- 
tive power  of  Thought.  Quite  literally,  therefore,  lesous  is  cruci- 
fied in  the  place  called  "The  Skull."  As  the  crucifixion  is  allegori- 
cal of  his  spiritual  rebirth,  the  words  addressed  by  lesous  to  the 
mortal  mothers  are  full  of  significance. 

The  Mystic  Death  of  lesous— The  Crowning  of  the  King 
[Mk.  XV.  33,  34,  38,  37] 

When  the  sixth  hour  was  past,  the  Sun  was  shorn  of  his  effulgent 
rays,  and  w^as  crowned  with  blackened  ones,  as  if  he  were  gar- 
landed with  piercing  thorns ;  and  for  three  dread  hours  a  veil  of 
darkness  hung  o'er  all  the  earth.  As  the  ninth  hour  ended,  lesous 
cried  out  with  mighty  voice : 

"My  Heavenly  Father,  now  thou  hast  anointed  me,  and  hast 
placed  the  promised  crown  upon  my  brow !" 

And  behold,  at  his  triumphant  cry  the  veil  of  darkness  that  hid 
the  heavenly  height  was  torn  away,  and  the  Sun  was  crowned  anew 
with  golden  rays.    Thus  lesous  breathed  his  last. 

COMMENTARY 

The  number  nine,  which  was  with  the  Greeks  a  peculiarly  sacred 
number,  is  called  mystically  the  number  of  initiation :  being  the 
highest  of  the  digits,  it  is  follow'ed  by  ten,  the  synthesis  of  the  fin- 
gers in  the  digital  system  of  counting,  and  ten  is  therefore  termed 
the  perfect  number,  and  as  such  is  ascribed  to  the  Sun.  Since,  after 
reaching  nine,  the  counting  begins  anew  with  the  unit  on  the  next 
scale,  nine  is  regarded  as  the  number  of  renewal,  of  beginning 
anew ;  and  thus  it  is  indicative  of  the  spiritual  rebirth,  the  entering 
into  life  eternal.  The  Greek  word  ivpea,  "nine,"  is  etymologically 
related  to  vea,  "new" ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Sanskrit  navam 
and  nava,  and  the  Latin  novem  and  noviis.  Moreover,  nine  is  com- 
posed of  three  triads,  and  thus  symbolizes  the  three  divine  Hypos- 
tases manifested  in  the  three  worlds  of  form.  Of  the  four  tran- 
scendental states  of  consciousness,  the  three  low^er  ones  mav  be 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  149 

likened,  by  analogy,  to  the  states  of  waking,  dreaming,  and  dream- 
less sleep;  the  fourth  is  the  noetic,  spiritual  illumination,  that  of 
direct  cognition.  Now,  at  the  third  hour — at  its  expiration,  strictly 
speaking — lesous  is  crucified:  when  the  kundalini  reaches  the  brain- 
centres  the  consciousness  passes  from  the  physical  to  the  psychic 
plane.  At  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  hour,  the  Sun  (the  mind)  is 
shorn  of  its  rays,  and  darkness  reigns :  the  consciousness  here  passes 
from  the  psychic  state  (corresponding  to  that  of  dreaming)  to  the 
stage  that  is  likened  to  dreamless  blankness.  At  the  ninth  hour 
lesous  "breathes  his  last,"  the  veil  is  rent,  and  the  Sun  is  again 
crowned  with  its  rays :  the  consciousness  has  passed  into  the  purely 
divine  state,  the  veil  of  illusion  is  destroyed,  and  the  wondrous  il- 
lumination is  attained. 

The  unholy  hands  of  the  men  who  "historicized"  this  superb  alle- 
gory have  made  sad  havoc  of  it;  but,  fortunately,  in  their  igno- 
rance of  its  true  meaning,  they  retained  most  of  the  essential  details 
of  the  allegory  and  disguised  the  rest  clumsily  and  ineffectually. 
Thus  the  unheroic  and  despairing  cry,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me?"  (literally,  according  to  the  Greek,  "left  me  in 
the  lurch"),  an  infelicitous  quotation  from  Psalms  xxii.  i,  is  incom- 
patible with  the  narrative,  whether  the  latter  is  accepted  as  history 
or  as  allegory,  for  in  either  sense  the  death  of  lesous  is  his  triumph. 
The  absurdity  of  this  spurious  last  utterance  becomes  glaring  when 
the  context  of  the  quotation  is  examined ;  for  verse  6  of  the  Psalm 
reads,  *T  am  a  worm,  and  no  man."  Yet  the  ecclesiastical  makers 
of  "history"  have  tried  desperately  to  make  this  Psalm  apply 
prophetically  to  the  crucifixion  of  lesous,  and  have  not  hesitated 
even  at  forgery:  thus  in  verse  16  they  have  altered  the  text,  in  the 
Vulgate  and  in  the  Syriac  version,  to  read,  "They  pierced  my  hands 
and  my  feet" ;  and  the  authorized  English  version,  originally  made 
from  the  Vulgate,  still  retains  this  fraudulent  reading,  although  the 
Hebrew  text  gives  "Like  a  lion,"  instead  of  "They  pierced."  In 
the  present  attempt  to  undo  the  work  of  the  sacrilegious  priests  who 
thus  falsified  the  text  the  necessary  changes  have  been  made  solely 
to  restore  the  consistency  of  the  narrative,  its  allegoric  sense  and 
its  Hellenic  coloring. 


150  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

7.     The  Resurgence  of  the  Sun-God— The  Self  Eternal 

lesous  Rises  from  the  Tomb  as  Lord  of  Life  and  Wisdom,  and  Shines 
Forth  in  Deathless  Youth  and  Beauty 

[Matt,  xxviii.  57,  59-61.     Lk.  xxiii.  53.    Mk.  xvi.  1-3.     Matt,  xxviii.  2. 

Mk.  xvi.  4-6] 

When  it  was  evening,  Joseph,  the  father  of  lesous,  came  and 
claimed  the  body  of  his  son.  He  took  it  down  from  the  cross,  and 
having  wrapped  it  in  a  spotless  linen  cloth,  laid  it  in  a  tomb  that 
was  hewn  in  the  rock,  wherein  mortal  never  had  been  laid.  Then 
he  rolled  a  great  stone  against  the  entrance  to  the  tomb,  securely 
closing  it.  Mariam,  the  mother  of  lesous,  and  Mariam,  his  sister, 
were  with  Joseph ;  and  they  beheld  him  lay  the  body  in  the  tomb. 
After  three  days  the  two  w^omen  returned  to  the  tomb,  coming  to  it 
as  the  Sun  was  rising;  and  the}^  brought  aromatic  oil  to  anoint  the 
body.    They  were  saying  to  each  other  : 

"Who  will  roll  away  the  stone  for  us  from  the  door  of  the  tomb?" 

For  't  was  a  massive  boulder.  But  even  as  they  spoke,  the  earth 
quaked,  and  the  solid  rocks  were  rent ;  and  as  they  looked,  the  stone 
was  rolled  away.  And  entering  into  the  tomb,  they  saw  standing 
at  the  right  side  a  God  in  the  semblance  of  a  beauteous  youth.  His 
form  was  as  resplendent  as  the  Sun,  and  his  vesture  was  white  and 
glittering  as  with  lightnings.  And  this  sun-rayed  God  said  to 
them : 

"You  have  come  to  anoint  lesous,  the  Crucified.  'T  is  not  he 
who  is  here,  but  his  risen  Self.  Behold,  I  have  been  anointed  King 
of  the  Realm  of  the  Starry  Spaces !" 

COMMENTARY 

Joseph,  the  Carpenter,  or  Builder  {tckton),  is  the  Dcmiourgos, 
World-builder,  or  aggregate  of  creative  forces  in  the  material  uni- 
verse; in  this  sense  he  is  the  earthly  father  of  lesous.  The  two 
women,  the  mother  of  Jesous  and  the  fallen  sister  whom  he  re- 
formed, are  also  Demiurgic  Goddesses,  for  they  personify  respec- 


THE  ANOINTING  OF  lESOUS  151 

tively  the  pure  primordial  world-substance  and  its  polarized  emana- 
tion, that  is,  the  higher  world-soul  and  the  lower. 

lesous  was  crucified  dramatically  while  the  sun  was  impaled  on  the 
cross  in  the  heavens;  so,  also,  in  this  final  scene  of  the  drama  his 
resurrection  takes  place  as  the  sun  is  rising  in  the  east.  Poetically 
the  Resurrection  is  symbolized  by  the  Dawn.  In  the  superb  imagery 
of  the  Hellenic  solar  cult  the  perfected  man,  the  initiate,  became 
Dionysos,  the  Sun-God.  In  the  Synoptics,  which  give  discordant 
accounts  of  the  resurrection,  the  allegory  has  been  falsified  by  the 
unscrupulous  priests  who  converted  the  drama  into  "history."  Com- 
paring the  three  accounts,  however,  it  is  clear  that  the  white-robed 
"young  man"  who,  according  to  Mark,  appears  to  the  women  is  the 
risen  lesous,  and  is  not  merely  a  messenger  who  informs  them  that 
lesous  has  departed.  In  Matthezv  this  youth  is  an  "angel"  (a  God), 
and  in  Luke  he  manifests  as  two  men  or  "angels." 

The  "new  tomb"  of  the  Creative  Logos  is  the  ideal  mould  of  the 
solar  body;  the  latter  is  formed  from  the  pure  aether,  or  celestial 
fire,  after  the  pattern  of  the  spiritual  body  {pneiiniatikon  souia), 
which  itself  is  without  substantiality.  Allegorically  the  "tomb"  is 
hewn  in  the  rock,  since  the  spiritual  birth  takes  place  while  the  soul 
is  incarnated,  while  still  in  the  physical  body.  The  two  women, 
coming  to  anoint  the  body  of  the  Crucified,  find  the  stone  (the  illu- 
sion of  material  life)  rolled  away,  and  as  they  enter  the  rock-hewn 
house  of  Death  they  find  it  transformed  into  the  house  of  Life, 
and  before  them,  like  the  Sun  ascendant  in  the  east,  stands  the  risen 
lesous,  the  Anointed  King  in  his  resplendent  robes,  eternalized  in 
ineflfable  beauty  and  unfading  youth. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS 

Wouldst  read  the  story  of  the  self -horn  King? 

First  learn  the  splendid  language  of  the  sun, 
The  speech  of  stars,  the  moon's  coy  whispering, 

The  music  of  the  planets,  and  of  one. 
Our  Mother  Earth,  crooning  her  cradle-song  5 

To  her  uncounted  babes,  ivho,  zvhen  they  gain 
The  soul's  full  stature,  to  the  heavens  belong: 

Read  then  this  tale  of  one  the  heavens  have  ia'en — 
A  mortal  who,  with  inner  light  relumed. 

And  making  Wisdom's  jewelled  crozvn  his  own,  10 

Donned  his  bright  solar  vesture  and  assumed 

Among  the  deathless  Gods  his  rightful  throne. 

I 

Beside  the  sanctifying-  stream  that  flows  Matt.  iii.  1-6 

Across  the  field  which  guardian  trees  enclose 

Stood  the  wise  Teacher  who,  presiding  o'er  15 

The  Lesser  Mysteries,  the  psychic  lore. 

In  limpid  water  bathes  the  candidates 

Whom  he  to  holy  Wisdom  consecrates : 

Chosen  are  they  from  those  four  castes  decreed 

To  be  the  nation's  head,  heart,  soul  and  seed.  20 

His  rite  proclaiming  'neath  the  vaulted  sky, 

He  cried,  and  echoing  hills  prolonged  the  cry : 

"Make  pure  your  hearts,  your  minds  make  crystal-clear; 

For  lo,  the  Starry  Realm  has  now  drawn  near !" 

Then  from  the  city  and  four  shires  along  25 

The  sacred  river,  came  the  hastening  throng 

Of  aspirants  for  knowledge  recondite, 

Eager  to  share  the  purifying  rite ; 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  153 

And  all  received  the  holy  rite  ordained, 

Unless  a  few  whose  souls  were  deeply  stained  30 

With  horrid  crimes — for  they,  alas,  must  make 

Atonement  in  the  Acherusian  lake, 

Borne  thither  by  the  turbid  streams  that  flow 

From  Death's  dark  portal  to  the  world  below. 

But  when  the  Teacher  saw  his  rite  decried  Matt.  iii.  7 

By  them  who  immortality  denied  36 

And  by  the  priests  who  prized  a  creed  outworn, 

Them  he  reproved  with  rugged  words  of  scorn: 

"O  brood  of  vipers !  who  has  bid  you  shun 

The  Seer's  fine  frenzy  ere  it  has  begun  ?  40 

False  Learning's  haughty  but  ignoble  breed,  Matt.  xii.  34,  35 

How  from  your  lips  can  noble  truths  proceed  ? 

The  mouth  but  speaks  whatever  thoughts  may  pour 

From  the  o'erflowing  heart's  abundant  store : 

The  wise  man's  lips  are  opened  to  impart  45 

Treasures  of  wisdom  welling  from  his  heart. 

The  precious  truths  his  diamond  soul  has  conned 

On  Life's  pure  pages  in  the  worlds  beyond; 

But  he,  unwise,  who  only  learns  by  rote 

The  outer  forms  of  knowledge,  can  but  quote  50 

Dead  thoughts  of  other  men— a  useless  hoard 

Which  he  by  study  in  his  heart  has  stored. 

Whoso  loves  wisdom  such  false  knowledge  scorns. 

Do  grapes  on  brambles  grow,  or  figs  on  thorns?      Matt.  vii.  16-19 

Thus  every  fruit-tree  sound  of  trunk  and  root  55 

Has  branches  bending  with  its  load  of  fruit, 

But  on  the  tree  with  root  and  trunk  unsound 

Shrivelled  and  worthless  fruit  alone  is  found. 

Against  the  worthless  tree  the  axe  is  turned; 

It  is  hewn  down,  and  in  the  fire  is  burned.  60 

And  even  now  behold  the  gleaming  blade  Matt.  iii.  10 

Poised  o'er  the  root  of  trees  that  are  decayed. 

Therefore  let  sap  flow  in  you,  to  unfold  Matt.  vii.  8,  9 

Blossoms  that  promise  Wisdom's  fruit  of  gold; 


154  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  cease  from  saying,  'We,  who  have  amassed  65 

Prodigious  learning,  are  the  reverend  caste— 
Of  mighty  intellect  and  thought  abstruse- 
Sprung,  like  Athena,  from  the  head  of  Zeus.' 
I  tell  you  that  the  Sire  of  men  and  Gods 

Can  turn  these  stones,  these  dull-brained  human  clods,  70 

Into  a  race  of  sages  and  of  seers: 
For  when  the  Sire's  winged  Messenger  appears 
And  wakens  with  his  wand  the  slumbering  soul, 
Man's  mystic  memory  will  then  unroll. 

As  't  were  a  sacred  scripture,  and  rehearse  75 

The  wisdom  of  the  boundless  universe." 

Then  came  to  him  the  working  men,  who  toil  Lk.  iii.  10,  11 

At  many  crafts,  and  till  the  fertile  soil, 
Saying,  "What  virtues,  Teacher,  must  we  show, 
Ere  we  the  Mysteries  of  the  Realm  may  know  ?"  80 

He  answered  them :  ''The  laws  and  moral  rules  Matt,  xxiii.  2-^ 

Are  framed  by  men  reputed  in  the  schools 
Of  formal  learning  to  be  wise  and  just ; 
Therefore  obey  them — for  obey  you  must! 

But  walk  not  as  these  reverend  sages  walk  :  85 

To  them  the  virtues  are  but  themes  for  talk. 
They  do  up  heavy  burdens,  which  they  pack. 
With  pious  unction,  on  the  people's  back, 
But  never,  on  the  long  and  weary  road, 

Lift  but  a  finger  to  reduce  the  load.  90 

When  they  perform  good  deeds,  it  is  because 
They  seek  men's  favor,  or  to  win  applause ; 
To  show  their  righteousness  to  all  good  folks 
They  wear  large  amulets,  and  trim  their  cloaks 
With  broad  and  showy  hems ;  and  much  they  love  95 

To  shine  at  banquets,  and  themselves  to  shove 
Into  front  seats  at  meetings ;  and  their  hearts 
Rejoice  when  fawners  greet  them  in  the  marts. 
I  tell  you,  if  no  brighter  virtues  shine  Matt.  v.  20 

In  you  than  in  these  wiselings  who  opine  100 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  155 

They  are  morality's  directing  helm, 

You  shall  not  enter  the  supernal  Realm." 

Next  came  to  him  the  merchants,  asking  thus:  Lk.  iii.  12,  13 

"What  virtues,  Teacher,  most  will  profit  us, 

That  we  may  win  fair  Wisdom's  diadem?"  105 

And  he,  the  Lesser  Teacher,  answered  them  : 

"Do  not  in  things  illusive  count  your  worth,  Matt.  vi.  19,  20 

Nor  lay  up  treasures  on  this  transient  earth, 

This  world  of  ceaseless  change  and  sure  decay. 

Where  Time,  the  primal  robber,  makes  away  no 

With  all  possessions,  turning  them  to  dust. 

As  when  moth-eaten  or  dissolved  by  rust ; 

But  lay  up  for  yourselves  a  lasting  store  Lk.  xii.  33,  34 

Of  virtue's  gems  and  wisdom's  golden  lore. 

Make  these  your  hoard  in  Heaven's  eternity;  115 

For  where  your  treasure  is  your  heart  will  be. 

To  all  who  ask  for  knowledge,  freely  give,  Matt.  v.  42 

And  lend  your  loving  strength  to  all  who  live." 

Then  came  the  soldiers,  valiant  men  and  strong,  Lk.  iii.  14 

Saying,  "What  virtues,  Teacher,  should  belong  120 

To  us?    Can  we  attain  the  nobler  life 

Whose  trade  is  war,  whose  hands  are  red  with  strife?" 

He  answered:  "Ye  who  doughty  deeds  perform  Matt.  xi.  12 

Can  carry  the  supernal  Realm  by  storm : 

For  men  of  mighty  and  resistless  will  125 

Swiftly  and  surely  force  their  way  until, 

As  conquerors  of  self  and  lords  of  fate. 

They  reach  the  Realm  and  pass  within  its  gate. 

But  think  not  ye  can  take  with  violent  hand  Lk.  iii.  14 

More  wisdom  than  your  merit  may  demand;  130 

And  never  play  the  part  of  dastard  spies. 

Seeking  to  learn  by  shadowing  the  Wise, 

Who,  being  w  ise,  are  ever  reticent ; 

But  with  a  warrior's  wage  be  ye  content." 

The  thronging  candidates  of  every  grade  Lk.  iii.  18 

He  then  addressed,  and  vividly  portrayed  136 


156  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  virtues  transcendental,  afiluent, 

For  mystics  only,  not  for  others,  meant : 

"Divinely  blest  are  they,  of  lucid  mind.  Matt.  v.  6 

Who  thirst  for  wisdom,  striving  Truth  to  know :  140 

For  they  shall  Wisdom's  wondrous  fountain  find, 

Whence  limpid  streams  of  living  water  flow. 
Divinely  blest  are  they  whose  winged  thought  Matt.  v.  3-5 

The  starry  Air,  the  Breath  of  God,  would  gain : 
For  they  shall  by  the  sceptred  Self  be  taught,  145 

And  in  the  realm  of  life  eternal  reign. 
Divinely  blest  are  they  who  silent  mourn 

The  Sun-Lord  nighted  in  the  form  of  clay: 
For  they  shall  rise  with  him,  the  Heaven-born, 

Flaming  the  dawn  of  an  eternal  Day.  150 

Divinely  blest  are  they  who  wisely  shun 

The  way  that  leads  f ore'er  to  mortal  birth : 
For  they  shall  wear  the  vesture  of  the  Sun, 

Inheriting  the  new  and  sacred  Earth. 
Divinely  blest  are  they  who  truly  claim  Matt.  v.  7-9 

Compassion  as  their  crowning  attribute:  156 

For  they  shall  bathe  in  the  absolving  flame 

Of  love  divine,  compassion  absolute. 
Divinely  blest  are  they  whose  hearts  are  pure, 

Whose  minds  are  like  a  sacred  scroll  unrolled  :  160 

For  they  with  vision  clarified  and  sure 

The  shining  Self  ancestral  shall  behold. 
Divinely  blest  are  they  who  make  their  own 

The  Peace  that  conscious  thought  can  never  grasp : 
For  they,  before  the  Self's  resplendent  throne,  165 

The  welcoming  hand  of  the  Etern  shall  clasp. 
Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  set  aside.  Matt.  v.  17,  19 

Or  to  relax,  the  virtues  sanctified 
By  law,  and  by  the  ancient  sages  writ ; 

I  lessen  not  the  law,  but  add  to  it.  170 

Whoever,  then,  the  least  law  shall  subvert, 
And  wrongly  teach  his  fellows,  to  their  hurt, 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  157 

Shall  rank  as  but  a  puling  babe  among 

The  new  disciples  on  the  lowest  rung 

Of  Being's  ladder,  who  the  Realm  would  reach;  175 

But  whoso  shall  obey  these  laws,  and  teach 

The  noble  virtues  by  the  mystics  known, 

Among  disciples  shall  be  called  full-grown. 

Thus  have  you  heard  the  law,  of  old  ordained:         Matt.  v.  21,  22 

'Thou  shalt  not  kill;  and  he  whose  hand  is  stained  180 

With  murder  shall  to  judgment  stern  be  brought.' 

But  unto  you  I  say,  Each  angry  thought 

Sullies  the  soul's  white  robes  with  ruddy  stain. 

Which  naught  can  wash  away  but  grief  and  pain. 

Thus  have  you  heard  :  'Harsh  penalties  befit  Matt.  v.  27,  28 

The  wantons  who  adultery  commit,'  186 

But  unto  you  I  say,  Guilty  is  he 

Who  looks  upon  a  woman  lustfully; 

For  though  she  stands  in  innocence  apart, 

Her  he  has  outraged  in  his  lecherous  heart.  190 

Thus  have  you  heard :  'The  wronged  should  feel  no  ruth.      Matt.  v. 

Demanding  eye  for  eye,  and  tooth  for  tooth.'  38,  39 

But  unto  you  I  say.  Do  not  requite 

Evil  with  evil ;  but  should  any  smite 

You  on  the  right  cheek  with  his  angry  fist,  195 

Turn  then  the  left  cheek,  rather  than  resist. 

Thus  have  you  heard :  'Love  thou  thy  friends  alway, 

But  hate  thine  enemies.'    To  you  I  say. 

Love  e'en  your  enemies,  and  but  contemn 

The  faults  and  vices  you  perceive  in  them. 

And  as  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you. 

Do  ye  to  all,  and  selfishness  subdue." 

Now,  all  the  candidates  were  filled  with  awe,  Lk.  iii.  15-17 

Hearing  him  thus  expound  the  higher  law. 

And  some  among  them  foolishly  surmised  205 

That  he  might  be — in  humble  garb  disguised — 

The  grand  Hierophant,  he  who  presides 

Over  the  Greater  Mysteries,  and  guides 


Matt 

:.  V. 

43- 

44 

200 

,k.  vi. 

31 

158  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  souls  of  men.    But  their  wise  Teacher  read 

Their  covert  thought,  and  to  them  all  he  said :  210 

"Nay ;  I  am  but  the  Lesser  Teacher :  I 

Can  but  in  flowing  Water  purify 

You  my  disciples.    But  the  Superman, 

The  mighty  Bearer  of  the  Mystic  Fan, 

Is  coming.    I,  whom  ye  deem  wise  and  strong,  215 

Have  not  the  strength  to  loose  his  sandal-thong! 

I  in  the  lunar  stream  cleansed  you  of  mire; 

But  he  in  stellar  Air  and  solar  Fire 

Shall  cleanse  you  utterly.    Behold  him  swing 

His  winnowing-fan,  expertly  scattering  220 

The  chaff  away,  until  the  heaped-up  store 

Of  grain  lies  clean  upon  his  threshing-floor! 

He  garners  then  the  wheat,  the  season's  yield, 

But  burns  with  fire  the  chaff-heap  in  the  field." 

A  man  whose  name  was  Jesus,  and  who  dwelt  Matt.  iii.  18 

Beyond  the  four  wide  shires  that  like  a  belt  226 

Enring  the  city,  haply  was  the  last 

To  reach  the  field,  all  others  having  passed 

In  mystic  ritual  through  the  sacred  stream : 

A  Seer  untaught  was  he,  who  from  the  dream  230 

Of  mortal  life  was  waking,  and  who  knew 

The  small  old  path  that  stretches  to  the  True. 

Now,  Jesus,  coming  late,  met  all  the  rest 

Returning  homeward,  and  he  them  addressed  :  Matt.  xi.  7-9,  1 1 

"What  went  ye  to  the  sacred  plain  to  see —  235 

A  reed  wind-shaken,  rustling  noisily? 

Or  went  ye  out  expecting  to  behold 

A  man  in  splendid  garments  hemmed  with  gold  ? 

The  men  so  clothed  in  homes  palatial  dwell ! 

What,  then,  did  ye  behold — a  Seer?    'T  is  well.  240 

For  unto  you  I  say.  No  man  among 

The  mortals  who  from  woman's  womb  are  sprung 

Is  greater  than  this  Teacher  who  explains 

The  Lesser  Mysteries ;  but  whoe'er  attains 


159 

245 

Matt.  iii.  13,  15 


250 

49.50 
255 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS 

An  'infant'  in  the  starry  Realm  to  be 

Is  verily  a  greater  'Man'  than  he." 

Then  Jesus  to  the  Lesser  Teacher  came, 

Of  him  the  purifying  rite  to  claim. 

"But  nay,"  the  Mystery-teacher  said  to  him ; 

"Beside  the  Light  in  thee,  mine  own  is  dim : 

Initiation  I  should  seek  of  thee, 

And  wherefore  comest  thou,  O  Seer,  to  me?" 

He  answered  him :  "To  sow  the  Earth  with  Fire        Lk.  xii 

Is  now  my  mystic  task.    Would  I  desire 

Thy  ritual  of  Water  if  indeed 

That  Fire  were  kindled  in  me  ?    Xay ;  I  need 

This  first  initiation  at  thy  hand, 

Thy  purifying  rite;  and  I  shall  stand 

Unflinchingly,  and  with  unruffled  brow. 

The  twelve  soul-testing  tortures.    Therefore  now     Matt,  iii 

Initiate  me,  Teacher ;  for  't  is  fit 

That  from  the  ritual  we  should  naught  omit." 

Him  then  the  Teacher  took,  and  bathed  him  in 

The  sacred  stream  that  purifies  from  sin. 

And  Jesus  rose  when  he  had  thus  been  passed 

Thrice  through  the  sacred  stream ;  and  lo,  the  vast 

And  vaulted  sky  was  riven,  and  from  above 

The  holy  Air  descended  like  a  dove 

Upon  him :  't  was  the  Mighty  Mother's  breath 

Blessing  her  Son  with  Love  that  knows  not  death 

Or  sorrow.    Then  the  Father's  voice  proclaimed 

From  the  high  throne  round  which  his  glory  flamed : 

"Worthy  art  thou ;  and  when  by  Time  unbound, 

Thou  shalt  in  my  Eternal  Realm  be  crowned," 

Jesus  had  lived,  since  he  had  last  ta'en  birth, 

For  twenty-eight  untroubled  years  on  earth. 

Knowing  no  grief  of  heart  or  stress  of  mind. 

Nor  tried  by  the  rude  Tempter  of  mankind ; 

But  when  he  thus  became  initiate  first 

In  Lesser  Mysteries,  a  tempest  burst 


15-17 
261 


265 


270 


Lk. 


Mk.  i. 


in.  23 
276 


12,  15 
280 


i6o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Within  his  soul,  and  him  the  sacred  Air 

Drove  forth  into  the  desert,  to  a  lair 

Of  prowling-  beasts,  a  cavern's  murky  maze, 

And  there  he  tarried  two  and  forty  days, 

Fasting  the  while.    There  the  primeval  Snake,  Lk.  iv.  2 

And  fierce  and  crafty  wild-beasts,  sought  to  shake  286 

His  faith  and  fortitude :  for  deep  within 

The  soul's  recesses  lurk  the  beasts  of  sin, 

The  dormant  passions,  which  become  aroused 

When  the  divine  and  human  are  espoused.  290 

But  Jesus,  the  enrapt  enthusiast, 

Unmoved  and  firm,  victoriously  passed 

Through  all  temptations,  doing  unappalled 

The  Heracleidan  labors  that  are  called 

The  twelve  great  tortures  of  the  neophyte.  295 

And  then  the  Tempter,  having  failed  to  blight  Lk.  iv.  13 

The  blossoms  fair,  of  faith  and  love  and  hope, 

Which  in  the  soul's  glad  mystic  Springtime  ope. 

Departed  for  the  season,  but  resolved 

To  vex  each  season  as  the  year  revolved.  300 

And  unto  Jesus,  when  he  thus  had  won  Mk.  i.  13-20 

Firm  footing  on  the  path  he  had  begun. 

Came  the  approving  Gods,  and  for  him  made 

A  royal  banquet,  and  to  him  conveyed 

The  secrets  of  the  Silence  whence  proceed  305 

The  melodies  of  Being,  seven-keyed ; 

For  thus  the  Gods  reward  each  man  of  might 

Who  does  the  twelve  initial  tasks  aright. 

Now,  Jesus,  having  thus  entirely  learned 

The  Lesser  Teacher's  ritual,  then  returned  310 

Out  of  the  desert  to  his  native  shire. 

Exhorting  all  men  straightway  to  acquire 

The  wisdom  of  the  coming  Realm  Divine, 

And  saying:  ''Sleep  not  in  the  mire  supine. 

But  rise,  and  unto  holy  truths  give  ear;  315 

For  lo,  the  starry  Realm  now  draweth  near !" 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  i6i 

And  coming  to  the  sea's  adjacent  bound 

He  walked  along  its  shore,  and  haply  found 

Two  of  his  brothers;  fishermen  were  they, 

And  in  the  sea  had  spread,  for  finny  prey,  320 

A  dragnet,  which  with  brawny  arms  they  hauled. 

But  Jesus,  when  he  saw  them,  loudly  called  : 

"Simon  and  Andrew,  come  ye  after  me, 

And  I  shall  teach  you,  brothers,  how  to  be 

Fishers  of  men."    They  straightway  left  the  net,  325 

And  gladly  followed  him.    Then  next  he  met, 

When  he  had  walked  a  little  further  on, 

Two  other  stalwart  brothers,  James  and  John, 

The  "Sons  of  Thunder."    They  were  in  the  ship 

Whose  crescent  sides  in  azure  waters  dip.  330 

Them,  too,  he  called  ;  and  leaving  sire  and  crew, 

They  followed  him,  the  Teacher  of  the  True. 

And  these  four  brothers  then  with  Jesus  came  Mk.  i.  29-31 

To  Simon's  house.    Now,  there  a  worthy  dame, 

Simon's  wife's  mother,  bedrid  lay;  and  she,  335 

Burning  with  fever,  raved  deliriously. 

They  spoke  of  her  to  Jesus.    To  her  side 

He  came  at  once,  and  skilfully  applied 

His  healing  virtue;  and  his  power  was  such 

That  she  rose  up  directly  at  his  touch,  340 

Cured  of  her  fever  and  delirium  : 

And  welcoming  these  callers  who  had  come, 

The  grateful  woman  spread  a  rich  repast 

And  served  the  brothers  as  they  broke  their  fast. 

As  they  reclined  at  table,  sadly  came  Lk.  vii.  37-47 

Their  fallen  sister ;  Mary  was  her  name.  346 

Once  she  had  walked  the  fairest  among  them 

Whom  nature  decks  with  Beauty's  diadem, 

Queenly  to  rule  the  hearts  of  men — unless 

They  lose  the  lure  of  maiden  loveliness;  350 

And  then,  a  temple-girl,  she  had  been  thrust 

Upon  the  altar  raised  to  ruddy  Lust 


i62  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

By  priests  wlio  through  the  ages  profit  find 

In  pandering  to  the  passions  of  mankind — 

The  priests  who  still  of  love  and  virtue  prate  355 

While  kindling  fires  of  bigotry  and  hate. 

Now,  Mary,  having  heard  how  on  that  day 

Jesus  at  Simon's  house  had  happed  to  stay, 

Came  softly  in,  as  if  her  tread  might  soil 

That  virtuous  house.    A  cruse  of  scented  oil  360 

She  brought,  and  with  her  eyes  averted  crept 

To  Jesus'  feet,  and  kissing  them  she  wept. 

Her  crystal  tears  like  gently  falling  rain 

Washing  from  them  the  dust  and  travel-stain ; 

And  having  dried  them  with  her  silken  hair,  365 

She  then  anointed  them  with  soothing  care. 

Then  Simon,  slyly  shielding  lips  with  hand, 

Whispered  to  Jesus :  "You  should  understand, 

Being  a  Seer,  what  we  have  left  untold, 

Because  it  shamed  us :  Mary,  uncontrolled  370 

By  reason  or  by  maiden  modesty, 

Has  now  become  a  temple-girl,  and  we 

Have  closed  our  doors  to  her."    But  loud  and  clear 

Rang  out  the  voice  of  Jesus  :  "Simon,  hear ; 

For  I  have  something  I  would  say  to  you."  375 

Said  Simon  crossly :  "Then  without  ado, 

Teacher,  say  on."    Said  he :  "In  days  agone 

A  lender  had  two  debtors,  and  anon 

Demanded  payment :  from  the  one,  he  showed. 

Five  hundred  drachms  were  due ;  the  other  owed  380 

But  fifty  drachms.    Now,  having  found  that  they 

Lacked  utterly  the  means  wherewith  to  pay, 

He,  out  of  pity  for  those  luckless  men, 

Cancelled  the  debts  of  both.    Which  debtor,  then. 

Should  love  him  most  ?"    Said  he :  "  'T  would  be,  indeed,  385 

He  who  of  mercy  felt  the  greater  need." 

Said  Jesus :  "You,  so  righteous,  have  judged  well !" 

And  as  his  gaze  compassionately  fell 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  163 

On  hapless  Mary,  Simon  he  arraigned : 

"You  see  our  sister  here,  with  cheeks  tear-stained?  390 

I  came  into  your  house,  and  me  you  gave 

No  water  for  my  feet ;  but  she  did  lave 

With  dewy  tears  my  feet,  and  them  has  dried 

With  those  long  locks  by  which  is  glorified 

Yon  bended  head.    You  kissed  me  not ;  but  she  395 

Keeps  kissing  my  poor  feet  unceasingly ! 

You  poured  no  oil  on  them ;  but  she  with  sweet 

And  precious  oil  anointed  well  my  feet. 

I  say  to  you,  The  Judge  in  heaven  above 

Weighs  less  her  sins  than  her  great  wealth  of  love."  400 

Again  he  walked  the  sea-shore,  seeing  there  Mk.  ii.  13,  14 

His  own  twin-brother,  seated  in  a  chair 

Among  a  group  of  friends.    This  brother's  name 

Was  Judas ;  being  of  herculean  frame 

And  skilled  in  all  the  games  that  g}'mnasts  ply,  405 

"The  Athlete"  he  was  called,  and  few  could  vie 

With  him  in  games,  so  fleet  was  he  of  limb 

And  strong  of  arm.    When  Jesus  came  to  him 

With  sun-bright  face  along  the  shining  beach, 

Calling  to  him,  "Come,  brother,  let  us  teach  410 

The  saving  truths,"  he  left  all  lesser  things,  Lk.  v.  28 

And  went  to  him  as  if  his  feet  had  wings. 

At  even,  when  the  sun  departing  blessed  Mk.  i.  32-35 

The  world  with  healing  breath  from  out  the  west. 

To  Jesus  men  would  bring  the  sufferers,  those  415 

Afflicted  with  diseases,  or  whose  woes 

Were  caused  by  evil  spirits  :  at  his  door 

The  city's  throng  besought  him  to  restore 

To  health  these  pain-racked  people ;  and  he  healed 

All  them  whose  fate  had  not  been  erstwhile  sealed  420 

By  Heaven's  decree,  and  always  drove  away 

The  ghostly  vampires  from  their  human  prey. 

Silencing  those  foul  spirits  that  would  fain 

Reveal  dark  mysteries  of  Death's  domain. 


i64  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  towards  the  morn,  when  in  the  waiting  east  425 

The  Herald-star  foreran  the  Golden-fleeced, 

Jesus  would  rise  and  quietly  depart 

Into  the  solitude ;  and  there  his  heart 

With  surgent  solar  forces  would  be  stirred 

As  he  with  viewless  Presences  conferred.  430 

Now,  he  one  day  was  teaching;  and  around  Lk.  v.  17 

Were  grouped  his  hearers,  men  whose  minds  were  bound 

By  gyves  of  creeds  and  by  the  ponderous  chains 

Of  formal  learning — men  whose  spacious  brains 

Were  richly  stored  with  knowledge,  but  in  whom  435 

No  torch  of  intuition  lit  the  gloom, 

And  who,  though  wisdom's  light  before  them  blazed, 

Perceived  but  shadows  wheresoe'er  they  gazed. 

From  all  four  shires  these  men  had  gathered  there. 

And  from  the  central  city,  w^hen  aware  Mk.  ii.  2-5 

That  he  was  in  his  house ;  for  now  his  fame  441 

Was  spread  abroad,  and  very  many  came 

To  hear  him  teach,  and  others  to  implore 

That  he  would  heal  them.    Even  at  the  door 

Was  now  no  room  for  others,  such  the  throng  445 

About  him.    Four  devoted  men  and  strong 

Came  bearing  on  a  litter  unto  him 

A  sick  man  paralyzed  in  every  limb ; 

And  finding  that  the  crowed  kept  them  aloof 

From  Jesus,  they  ascended  to  the  roof,  450 

Through  which  they  made  an  opening  o'er  the  spot 

Where  Jesus  was,  and  then  let  down  the  cot 

Whereon  the  sick  man  lay.    Approving  then 

The  shrewd  device  of  these  resourceful  men, 

And  moved  with  pity  for  the  palsied  one,  455 

Jesus  said  cheeringly  to  him :  "My  son. 

Your  sins  have  been  atoned  for."    When  they  heard,    Lk.  v.  21-25 

The  pious  bigots  in  their  hearts  demurred. 

Asking  with  voiceless  anger :  "Who  is  he, 

That  he  should  thus  usurp  divinity?  460 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  165 

Who  but  the  God  whose  ear  the  priesthood  wins 

Can  make  man  righteous  and  forgive  his  sins?" 

But  Jesus,  knowing  well  their  covert  thought, 

Answered  them  :  "Wherefore  are  you  so  distraught? 

I  ask  you,  Is  it  easier  to  say,  465 

'Your  sins  have  been  by  suffering  washed  away/ 

Than  't  is  to  say,  'Arise  and  walk'  ?    Learn  now 

That  the  Celestial  Man,  though  in  the  slough 

Of  earthly  life  foot-fast,  the  power  controls 

To  heal  men's  bodies  and  to  cleanse  their  souls."  470 

And  turning  to  the  palsied  man  he  said : 

"Arise,  take  up  that  thing  on  which  was  spread 

Your  wasted  limbs,  now  muscular  and  strong, 

And  hasten  to  the  house  where  you  belong." 

At  once  the  man  sprang  lightly  to  his  feet  475 

Before  them,  and  with  thanks  to  Jesus  meet, 

Took  up  his  cot,  to  him  a  petty  load, 

And  went  rejoicing  to  his  own  abode. 

For  Jesus  and  his  hearers  Judas  made  Lk.  v.  29-32 

A  banquet  at  his  house.    At  tables  laid  480 

With  richest  viands  and  with  sparkling  wine 

He  bade  his  motley  throng  of  guests  recline. 

The  learned  men  and  bigots,  mortified 

At  finding  lowly  persons  at  their  side. 

Murmured  to  the  disciples :  "W^hy  do  you  485 

Banquet  with  this  uncouth  plebeian  crew 

Of  higglers  and  poor  tramps?"    Then  Jesus  said 

In  answer :  "Judas  well  his  feast  has  spread 

Alike  for  lowly  men  and  men  of  wealth. 

I  say  to  you.  The  sick,  not  those  in  health,  490 

Have  need  of  a  physician.    And  I  thus 

Exhort  the  erring,  not  the  virtuous. 

To  mend  their  morals  and  to  seek  the  Truth, 

In  want  of  which  ye  wiselings  are  uncouth. 

For  thus  the  Self  incarnate  in  mankind  495 

Would  save  the  ruined,  and  the  lost  would  find. 


i66  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

What  man,  think  ye,  if  he  should  have,  this  day,    Matt,  xviii.  12,  13 

A  hundred  sheep,  and  one  should  go  astray. 

Would  not  the  ninety-nine  fold-sheltered  keep. 

And  go  and  scour  the  hills  for  that  lost  sheep  ?  500 

And  if  he  finds  it,  do  ye  not  opine 

It  glads  him  more  than  do  the  ninety-nine 

That  strayed  not  ?    Or  what  woman  who  possessed        Lk.  xv.  8,  9 

Ten  silver  coins  would  not  be  sore  distressed 

If  she  should  lose  one;  and  would  she  not  take  505 

A  lighted  lamp  and  diligently  make 

Close  search  in  all  dark  crannies,  peering  round 

Until  that  missing  silver  coin  was  found  ? 

And  when  't  is  found,  she  hastens,  woman-wise, 

Her  friends  and  neighbors  proudly  to  apprise  510 

Of  her  good  fortune,  saying,  'With  me  join 

In  gladness,  for  I  've  found  my  missing  coin.' 

Hear  now  an  allegory.    Thus  it  runs  :  Lk.  xv.  1 1-32 

There  was  of  old  a  man  who  had  two  sons ; 

And  one,  the  younger,  stirred  by  deep  unrest,  515 

Went  to  his  father  and  made  this  request : 

*I  pray  you.  Father,  unto  me  assign 

That  portion  of  the  substance  that  is  mine.' 

And  so  the  father  portioned  each  the  share 

That  he  would  have,  considered  as  an  heir  520 

To  the  estate.    The  younger  son  then  took 

His  ow^n  belongings,  and  the  home  forsook, 

Going  away  to  a  far-distant  land. 

Where  he,  improvident,  with  lavish  hand 

Wasted  his  substance  in  a  life  of  shame.  525 

When  he  had  spent  his  all,  grim  famine  came 

Upon  that  land,  and  then  the  wastrel  felt 

The  pinch  of  poverty.    He  went  and  dwelt 

With  one  he  knew,  who  gave  him  work  indign, 

Sending  him  to  his  fields  to  feed  the  swine.  530 

So  starved  was  he  that  oft  he  longed  to  fill 

His  belly  with  the  husks  the  swine  ate ;  still 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  167 

No  one  took  pity  on  him,  offering 

The  food  he  needed.     FeeHng  thus  the  sting 

Of  cruel  hunger,  and  the  spur  of  need,  535 

He  grew  repentant,  being  forced  to  heed 

The  promptings  of  his  better  self;  he  longed 

To  see  again  the  father  he  had  wronged, 

And  live  with  him  within  the  sheltering  home 

He  had  deserted  when  impelled  to  roam.  540 

'How  many  of  my  father's  slaves,'  he  said, 

'Are  housed  in  comfort  and  are  given  bread 

More  than  enough,  while  I  am  starving  here ! 

I  will  arise,  and  penitent,  sincere. 

Shall  go  unto  my  father  and  shall  say,  545 

My  father,  I  have  sinned  in  woful  way 

Against  the  Gods  and  thee ;  and  now,  undone, 

Am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son. 

Thy  love  I  forfeited ;  my  only  plea 

Is  now  to  be  a  wage-slave  serving  thee.'  550 

And  so  the  wayward  wanderer  returned ; 

And  when  the  father  from  afar  discerned 

Him  drifting  homeward,  a  poor  human  wreck. 

He  ran  to  him,  and  falling  on  his  neck. 

Lovingly  kissed  him.     But  the  son  said  :  'Nay;  555 

Unworthy  to  be  called  thy  son,  I  pray 

To  be  thy  wage-slave.    I,  in  wretched  plight, 

Have  sinned  against  the  Gods  and  in  thy  sight.' 

But  said  the  father  to  the  servants :  'Bring 

The  richest  robe,  and  put  a  signet-ring  560 

Upon  his  finger ;  bathe  his  weary  feet, 

Anointing  them  with  oil  perfumed  and  sweet, 

And  give  him  sandals.     Kill  the  fatted  calf, 

An  offering  to  the  Gods  in  his  behalf. 

And  in  our  house  let  festal  joys  be  rife :  565 

For  this,  my  son,  long  dead,  is  come  to  life, 

Long  lost,  is  found.'    Then  was  the  feast  begun. 

From  toiling  in  the  field,  the  older  son 


i68  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Was  coming  to  the  house ;  when  he  drew  near 

Music  and  sounds  of  dancing  reached  his  ear.  570 

CalHng  to  him  a  servant,  he  incjuired 

What  glad  event  this  festival  inspired. 

'Your  brother  has  returned,'  the  servant  said ; 

'Your  sire  has  killed  the  fatted  calf  and  spread 

A  banquet  for  the  household,  and  they  all  575 

Are  joyous  with  him  in  the  festal  hall : 

For  safe  and  sound  his  son  he  has  regained.' 

The  older  son  grew  wrathful,  and  remained 

Sulking  without ;  and  then  his  father  went 

To  him,  entreating  him ;  but,  insolent,  580 

Addressing  his  fond  father  with  cold  sneers, 

He  said  to  him :  'Lo,  I  these  many  years 

Have  served  you,  toiling  like  your  meanest  slave, 

And  heeding  every  order  that  you  gave ; 

And  yet  you  never  gave  me  e'en  a  kid,  585 

That  I  might  feast,  my  worthy  friends  amid. 

But  when  this  son  of  yours,  who  has  devoured 

Your  living  with  vile  prostitutes,  has  cowered 

Before  your  feet,  you  have  in  his  behalf 

Thank-offering  made  and  killed  the  fatted  calf!'  590 

Said  then  to  him  the  father:  'You  have  stayed 

Always  with  me,  my  son,  and  have  obeyed 

All  my  commands ;  and  all  things  I  possess 

Are  also  yours.     But  should  we  not  express 

With  feast  and  merrymaking  our  great  joy  595 

Because  your  brother,  my  beloved  boy, 

Long  lost,  should  thus  the  homeward  pathway  tread, 

Coming  like  one  arisen  from  the  dead?'  " 

And  Jesus,  having  thus  in  words  obscure 

Told  how  the  human  soul  becomes  mature  600 

Through  age-long  grief  and  pain,  and  then  returns 

To  that  supernal  home  for  which  it  yearns, 

Paused  for  a  while,  and  then  went  on  to  say : 

"But  in  what  likeness  shall  I  now  portray  Matt.  xi.  16-19 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  169 

The  souls  that  have  forgotten  whence  they  came,  605 

And  Hve  on  earth  with  no  exaUed  aim, 

Mistaking  for  the  True  the  pantomime 

Of  shifting  shadows  on  the  screen  of  Time? 

They  are  hke  children,  who  with  mimic  art 

Call  to  each  other,  playing  in  the  mart :  610 

'For  you  the  flute  we  merrily  played, 

But  you  did  n't  dance  with  twinkling  feet; 

And  when  a  mournful  dirge  we  made, 
Your  breast  you  did  n't  wildly  beat.' 
For  when  the  Lesser  Teacher,  pure,  divine,  615 

Comes  neither  eating  flesh  nor  drinking  wine. 
They  say,  'His  eccentricities  attest 
That  by  some  evil  spirit  he  's  possessed.' 
And  when  the  Great  Hierophant  appears, 

Eating  and  drinking,  and  himself  endears  620 

Unto  the  lowly  seeking  Wisdom's  way, 
They  look  at  him  askance,  and  sneering  say, 
'Hear  how  this  glutton  and  wine-bibber  raves, 
As  he  consorts  with  vagabonds  and  knaves!' 

And  Learning  is,  her  worshippers  aver,  Lk.  vii.  35 

A  truthful  Goddess  who  can  never  err!"  626 

But  they  retorted :  "The  disciples  classed  Lk.  v.  33,  34 

Under  the  Lesser  Teacher  often  fast. 
As  also  do  the  followers  of  the  priests  ; 

But  yours  indulge  in  drinking  at  your  feasts."  630 

Said  Jesus  unto  them :  "Can  you  persuade 
The  bridegroom's  friends  to  fast  when  he  has  made 
For  them  a  banquet,  and  with  him  they  all 
Recline  at  table  in  the  festal  hall?" 

Two  other  parables  to  them  he  spoke :  Lk.  v.  36-39 

"No  prudent  person  mends  a  torn  old  cloak  636 

With  new,  uncarded  cloth,  e'en  though  they  match 
In  all  but  age,  because  the  stiff  new  patch. 
Added  to  hide  the  rent  it  is  sewn  o'er. 
Tears  off  and  makes  a  worse  rent  than  before;  640 


170  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Then,  too,  a  patch  so  made  too  clearly  shows 

In  brighter  color  on  old  faded  clothes. 

Nor  does  one  put  new  wine  in  worn  old  skins ; 

For  if  he  does,  the  wine,  when  it  begins 

To  effervesce,  will  burst  the  skins  thus  filled,  645 

And  they  are  ruined,  and  the  wine  is  spilled. 

They  put  new  wine  in  wine-skins  newly  made, 

Preserving  both.     No  man  whose  mind  is  swayed 

By  old  wine  cares  for  new :  'Because,'  he  states, 

'The  old  wine,  not  the  new,  exhilarates.'  "  650 

Thus  he  was  telling  them,  the  orthodox.  Matt.  ix.  18 

How  Time  the  great  destroyer,  ever  mocks 

Them  who  w^ith  new-wove  dogmas  try  to  mend 

Their  ragged  cults  when  bareness  may  impend. 

And  them  who  strive,  when  driven  by  their  needs,  655 

To  put  new  life  in  their  decaying  creeds; 

And  e'en  as  he  was  speaking  of  the  fine 

Exhilaration  of  the  mystic  wine, 

The  sacred  wisdom  of  the  Seers  of  old  — 

To  him  came  the  king-archon,  who  controlled  660 

All  exoteric  worship.     Bowing  low,  Mk.  v.  23 

He  begged  that  Jesus  speedily  would  go 

With  him  to  his  abode.     "Good  sir,"  he  said, 

"My  little  daughter  seemingly  is  dead  : 

She  lies  in  moveless  trance,  as  't  were  the  sleep  665 

That  knows  no  waking.    While  we  vainly  weep 

She  wastes  away ;  for  in  her  soul's  eclipse 

Nor  food  nor  drink  has  passed  her  pallid  lips. 

Therefore  to  her  come  quickly,  I  implore, 

And  her  with  healing  touch  to  life  restore."  670 

This  little  daughter  who  in  deathlike  trance  Lk.  viii.  42 

Was  wasting  for  the  want  of  sustenance 

Was  only  twelve  years  old.    With  Jesus  went  Mk.  v.  24-28 

His  five  disciples,  and  a  crowd  intent 

On  witnessing  what  magic  he  might  do  675 

The  dying  maiden's  life-breath  to  renew, 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  171 

And  in  their  eagerness  they  rudely  pressed 

About  him,  jostHng  him.    Among  the  rest 

A  certain  woman  came,  who  had  sustained 

Twehe  years  a  flux  of  blood  that  slowly  drained  680 

Her  vital  force  from  her,  and  had,  uncured, 

Of  many  doctors  many  things  endured, 

Spending  her  all,  until  with  empty  purse. 

She  found  that  these  had  only  made  her  worse. 

But  having  heard  of  Jesus  through  his  fame,  685 

Behind  him  in  the  crowd  she  softly  came  Lk.  viii.  44 

And  touched  his  mantle's  hem  ;  for  thus  she  thought :    Mk.  v.  28-40 

"Even  his  outer  garments  must  be  fraught 

With  magic  virtue :  I  '11  be  healed  by  them 

If  I  but  place  my  finger  on  the  hem."  690 

And  at  the  touch  the  issue  of  her  blood 

Was  stanched,  and  then  she  felt  a  healing  flood 

Her  strength  renewing.     Jesus  turned  about, 

Knowing  a  magic  virtue  was  drawn  out 

From  him,  and  asked  of  those  around  him,  "Who  695 

Now  touched  my  garments  ?"    Saving  her,  none  knew ; 

And  his  disciples  laughingly  replied : 

"You  see  them  jostling  you  on  every  side. 

Yet  ask,  'Who  touched  me  ?'  "    But  his  vision  swept 

The  gaping  crowd,  and  forth  the  woman  crept,  700 

Trembling  and  awed  at  being  thus  made  well, 

And  telling  him  the  truth,  before  him  fell. 

"Daughter,"  said  he,  "your  faith  has  made  surcease 

Of  your  infirmity.    Go  now  in  peace." 

While  yet  he  spoke,  came  messengers  who  said  705 

To  the  king-archon  :  "Sir,  your  child  is  dead ; 

For  you  the  mourners  at  your  house  now  wait, 

But  why  the  Healer  bring,  when  't  is  too  late?" 

But  Jesus  said  to  him  assuringly : 

"Have  courage,  and  retain  your  faith  in  me."  710 

And  then  he  bade  the  curious  crowd  begone. 

Permitting  only  Judas,  James  and  John 


172  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

To  go  along  with  him.     When  they  had  come 

Unto  the  house,  they  found  an  uproar :  some 

Among  the  household  mourned  with  streaming  eyes  715 

And  choking  sobs;  and  some  with  doleful  cries 

Proclaimed  their  grief,  and  wildly  beat  the  breast. 

But  Jesus,  entering  the  house,  addressed 

These  words  to  them :  "Why  do  you  wail  and  weep, 

Making  an  uproar  ?    'T  is  not  Death,  but  Sleep,  720 

Has  stilled  the  soul  within  her  form  of  clay : 

The  child  but  slumbers."     But  so  sure  were  they         Lk.  viii.  53-55 

That  she  was  dead  that  they  were  only  stirred 

To  mirthless  laughter  when  his  words  they  heard. 

But  Jesus  took  her  by  the  hand  and  cried :  725 

"Maiden,  awake!"    With  his  command  complied 

Her  soul,  returning  from  the  land  where  dwell 

Dream-people,  who  in  meads  of  asphodel 

Blissfully  wander.    Then  the  maid  arose, 

Wide-eyed  and  wondering,  from  her  strange  repose ;  730 

And  Jesus,  pointing  out  her  lassitude. 

Ordered  that  quickly  they  should  give  her  food. 

One  of  those  days  of  yet  unripened  fruit.  Lk.  viii.  22,  23 

When  Jesus  was  a  wandering  Therapeut — 

One  who  along  the  highways  humbly  plods.  735 

Teaching  and  healing,  so  to  serve  the  Gods — 

It  chanced  one  eve,  he  walked  beside  the  sea, 

And  he  and  his  disciples  joyously 

Entered  the  ship,  and  unto  them  he  cried : 

"Let  us  pass  over  to  the  other  side."  740 

So  they  put  out  to  sea ;  and  as  they  sailed 

He  fell  asleep.    A  sudden  storm  prevailed ; 

And  o'er  the  sturdy  ship,  now  plunging,  dashed 

The  foaming  waves  by  winds  to  fury  lashed, 

Until  it  seemed  the  struggling  ship  anon  745 

Would  surely  founder.    Jesus  still  slept  on, 

Recumbent  at  the  tiller,  with  his  head 

Resting  upon  the  cushion  which  was  spread 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  173 

For  him  as  steersman.    For  no  storm  or  strife 

Of  elements  disturbs  the  inner  Hfe  750 

Of  him  whose  soul  has  reached  the  sacred  peace 

And  seeks  to  gain  the  mystic  golden  fleece — 

The  wondrous  vesture  woven  of  the  flame 

The  sun  outbreathes.    But  his  disciples  came, 

Awaking  him,  and  said :  "O  Captain,  save  755 

Yourself  and  us  from  Ocean's  yawning  grave." 

Then  Jesus,  rising  up,  rebuked  the  wind — 

Storm-stirring  Boreas— and  disciplined 

The  Ocean-God,  Poseidon,  saying  thus : 

"Be  quiet,  thou,  of  Gods  most  boisterous !  760 

The  Storm-wind  in  his  prison-cave  confine, 

And  draw  the  reins  on  those  wild  steeds  of  thine." 

Then  Wind  and  Ocean-God  subdued  their  spleen ; 

And  raging  storm  gave  way  to  calm  serene. 

But  from  her  cordage,  now  like  harp-strings  tense,  765 

The  ship  sent  forth,  what  all  could  faintly  sense. 

Celestial  music,  an  seolian  tone ; 

While  o'er  the  two  strong  Sons  of  Thunder  shone 

Two  brilliant  lights,  as  if  two  infant  stars 

Had  perched,  like  birds,  above  them  on  the  spars.  770 

Now,  having  thus  the  tempest's  wrath  survived,  Mk.  v,  1,2 

They  at  the  sea's  remotest  shore  arrived, 

Unto  a  country  where  a  chasm  profound 

Gapes  like  a  sword-cut  in  the  wounded  ground : 

'T  was  here  the  earth  was  rudely  torn  apart  775 

When  plundering  Plouton,  clasping  to  his  heart 

Persephone,  whom  he  would  make  his  queen, 

Fled  down  with  her  the  Earth's  rock-ribs  between, 

To  reach  his  gloomy  realm.    Here  Jesus  left 

The  ship  awhile,  to  view  the  mighty  cleft ;  780 

And  he  was  met  by  one,  a  denizen  Lk.  viii.  2j 

Of  that  weird  country,  who  the  haunts  of  men 

Had  long  abandoned,  and  among  the  tombs 

Was  dw^elling,  nude  and  filthy,  crazed  by  fumes 


174  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

1  hat  from  the  chasm  ascended,  and  possessed  785 

By  grewsome  spirits  who  his  soul  distressed. 

And  now  so  fierce  was  he  that  none  could  bind  Mk.  v.  3-5 

His  brawny  limbs  or  soothe  his  maddened  mind : 

When  chains  and  fetters  on  his  limbs  they  put, 

He  burst  his  bonds  and  freed  both  hand  and  foot.  790 

He  prowled  among  the  tombs  and  roamed  the  hills, 

Crying  aloud,  and  adding  to  his  ills 

By  gashing  his  own  flesh  with  jagged  stones; 

And  e'en  in  sleep  he  breathed  with  sobs  and  moans. 

Now  catching  sight  of  Jesus,  this  poor  man,  Lk.  viii.  28,  30,  31 

Screaming  insanely,  to  the  Healer  ran,  796 

And  at  his  feet  fell  down.    Then  Jesus  asked : 

"What  is  your  name?"    But  many  ghosts  were  masked 

By  that  one  hapless  human  form,  and  they, 

Using  its  lips,  replied :  "What  boots  it,  pray,  Matt.  viii.  29 

That  you  should  know  our  names  ?    W^e  are  a  crowd,  801 

And  many  are  our  names.     Are  you  allowed 

By  him  whose  power  o'er  Erebos  extends 

Hither  to  come,  and  ere  his  season  ends 

Imprison  us  ?    Nay ;  do  not  drive  us  back  805 

To  Erebos  through  that  earth-riven  crack 

By  which  awhile  ago  we  took  our  flight 

To  find  a  home  in  this  unguarded  wight." 

Now,  on  the  hills  a  herd  of  many  swine  Lk.  viii.  32-37 

Were  grazing  greedily.     The  ghosts  malign,  810 

Knowing  that  Jesus  from  their  human  den 

Would  now  expel  them,  him  entreated  then 

That  he  would  let  them  take  the  swine  instead 

For  habitations ;  and  they  gladly  sped, 

When  he  had  given  permission,  to  exchange  815 

Their  human  ghost-hotel  for  homes  more  strange. 

Thinking  their  lust  for  life  they  still  might  glut 

While  dw^elling  in  those  porcine  bodies ;  but 

The  decent  swine,  refusing  in  disgust 

To  house  those  filthy  ghosts  of  human  lust,  820 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  175 

Rushed  down  the  shore  that  to  the  water  shelves, 

And  in  the  cleanly  ocean  drowned  themselves. 

Now  when  the  swineherds  saw^  the  grievous  fate 

That  had  befallen  their  herd,  they  went,  irate 

At  having  lost  their  swine,  and  spread  the  news  825 

Throughout  the  city  and  its  wide  purlieus, 

Thus  saying  to  the  spirit-worshippers, 

Of  whom  were  many  there :  "Our  swine,  good  sirs, 

Would  not  have  perished  had  he  let  alone 

Your  spirits,  which  to  Hades  now  have  flown."  830 

Then  all  the  worshippers  of  spirits  ran 

To  Jesus,  at  whose  feet  the  grateful  man, 

Now  clothed  and  sane,  was  sitting.    All  were  stirred 

By  wrath  and  fear ;  and  with  but  one  curt  word 

They  bade  him  leave  their  land  without  delay;  Mk.  v.  17 

So,  entering  the  ship,  he  sailed  away.  836 

II 

Jesus  ascended  now  the  sacred  Mount  Mk.  iii.  13,  14 

Whose  twelve  encircling  peaks  on  earth  recount 

The  twelve  great  starry  stations  which  in  heaven 

Are  traversed  by  the  Sun  and  planets  seven ;  840 

And  having  taken  there  the  central  throne, 

He  called  his  twelve  disciples.    To  the  zone 

Of  lesser  thrones  around  him  they  all  came 

And  took  their  several  seats,  each  one  by  name 

Responding.     And  he  likened  James  and  John,  Mk.  iii.  16-19 

Of  those  companions  he  relied  upon,  846 

To  forked  lightnings  of  the  shining  cloud, 

Simon  and  Andrew  to  the  thunders  loud, 

And  Judas  to  the  thunderbolt  that  smites 

Him  whom  the  Sire  exalts  to  heavenly  heights ;  850 

While  Mary  and  six  other  sisters  there, 

Forming  a  semicircle  bright  and  fair. 


176  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

He  likened  to  the  seven  divers  tints 

Which  Iris  on  the  pale  blue  sky  imprints. 

Then  Simon  said  to  him :  "To  follow  you  Matt.  xix.  27-29 

We  have  renounced  the  w'orld.    Now  what  is  due  856 

To  us  as  our  reward  ?"    And  he  replied : 

"Companions,  ye  whom  I  have  sanctified, 

When  I  am  born  anew,  and  take  my  throne 

To  rule  the  Realm,  all  ye,  who  now  have  shown  860 

Your  faith  in  me,  in  my  exalted  hour 

Shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  with  sceptred  power 

Over  the  twelve  great  houses  wherein  all 

The  hosts  of  heaven  reside,  both  great  and  small. 

Whoever  may  renounce  his  house  on  earth —  865 

The  mortal  form  his  soul  received  at  birth — 

And  all  false  riches  in  this  world  of  death, 

To  seek  rebirth  in  the  most  holy  Breath,  Lk.  xviii.  30 

The  great  World-Mother,  shall  when  born  anew 

Receive  a  house  etern  and  riches  true ;  870 

He  in  the  Realm's  most  stately  edifice. 

The  palace  of  the  King,  shall  dwell  in  bliss. 

A  quenchless  light  the  Self  has  placed  in  man,  Matt.  v.  14 

That  by  its  magic  radiance  he  might  scan 

All  things  whate'er,  apparent  or  arcane,  875 

The  inner  and  the  outer  worlds  contain, 

Thus  with  the  faultless  vision  of  the  Seer 

Piercing  the  heights  and  depths,  the  far  and  near. 

The  Self  bestowed  this  light,  but  ne'er  designed 

That  man  should  mask  it  in  his  murky  mind,  880 

As  one  might  hide  a  brightly  burning  lamp  Lk.  xi.  33,  34 

Under  a  tub  or  in  a  cellar  damp ! 

Nay ;  on  the  lampstand  placed,  and  duly  trimmed, 

The  lamp  should  glad  the  house  with  light  undimmed. 

This  sacred  lamp  in  man  the  Mystics  call  885 

The  'single  eye';  and  when  it  may  befall 

That  it  is  open,  the  supernal  light 

Bathes  all  his  inner  being,  and  his  sight 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  177 

Reaches  beyond  the  bounds  of  time  and  space; 

But  in  the  man  whom  bHnding  sins  debase  890 

The  holy  h'ght  is  hid,  the  eye  ne'er  opes, 

And  he  in  mental  darkness  blindly  gropes. 

If  ye  were  thus  benighted,  how,  forsooth. 

Could  ye  have  walked  with  me  the  way  of  Truth  ? 

But  there  is  nothing  latent  or  suppressed  Lk.  viii.  17,  18 

That  shall  not,  in  due  time,  be  manifest;  896 

That  which  to-day  seems  hopelessly  obscure 

Will  yield,  to-morrow,  meanings  clear  and  sure. 

Therefore  take  heed,  when  mysteries  ye  learn, 

To  measure  broadly  all  you  may  discern ;  900 

For  by  the  rule  you  use,  the  Gods  anew 

Will  measure  out  the  sacred  truths  to  you ; 

And  ye  with  open  minds  shall  thereby  gain 

The  truths  that  in  the  deathless  soul  remain 

From  life  to  life.    For  death  but  clarifies  905 

And  widens  more  the  wisdom  of  the  wise ; 

But  when  false  learning  only  man  has  known. 

Death  strips  him  of  the  wealth  he  deems  his  own." 

Thus  having  said,  he  consecrated  then  Lk.  x.  i 

Other  disciples:  thirty-six  were  men,  910 

And  thirty-six  were  women.     Round  the  twelve 

They  stood  upon  the  mountain-sides  that  shelve 

From  summit  down  to  earth — like  stars  on  high 

In  clusters  shining  in  the  vaulted  sky. 

He  likened  them,  the  seventy  and  two,  Lk.  vi.  13 

To  Hermes,  swiftly  bearing  tidings  true,  916 

And  Aphrodite,  risen  from  the  foam 

Of  the  aethereal  sea,  to  seek  a  home 

Within  the  hearts  of  men;  and  them  he  sent,  Lk.  x.  i,  2 

As  they  were  wedded  couples,  eloquent  920 

With  words  of  love,  to  go  before  his  face, 

Now  shining  sun-like,  unto  every  place 

And  city  where  he  meant  to  show  the  might 

And  glory  of  his  presence.     Thus  at  night 


178  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  silvery  stars  precede  in  wide  array  925 

The  golden  splendor  of  the  Lord  of  Day. 

And  ere  he  sent  them  forth  he  thus  addressed 

His  messengers  of  love  with  high  behest : 

"The  summer  now  advances,  and  the  yield 

Of  yellow  grain  is  great ;  but  in  the  field  930 

The  reapers  are  but  few :  so  seek  ye  more 

Throughout  the  land,  and  as  ye  go  implore 

The  Goddess  of  the  Harvest  to  inspire 

With  willingness  the  w'orkers  ye  would  hire. 

And  on  your  journey  go  but  lightly  clad,  Mk.  vi.  8,  9 

Hasting  along  the  road  as  if  you  had  936 

Wings  on  your  sandals  and  had  also  donned 

The  winged  hat.    Your  fascinating  wand 

Take  with  you,  also  your  persuasive  purse; 

And  tarry  not  w'ith  idlers  to  converse,  Lk.  x.  4-1 1 

But  bear  in  mind  that  you  are  sent  to  look  941 

For  workers  who  will  wield  the  reaping-hook. 

The  tirst  house  you  may  enter,  say  to  all, 

'Peace  to  this  house !'    And  if  an  answering  call 

Of  welcome  comes  from  one  whom  Peace  has  blessed,  945 

Then  on  that  worthy  house  your  peace  will  rest ; 

But  if  it  meet  with  no  response  of  love. 

Your  peace  will  softly,  like  a  homing  dove. 

Return  to  you.    Where  you  are  welcomed,  stay. 

And  from  your  well-filled  purse  your  host  repay :  950 

Go  not  from  house  to  house  like  overfed 

Priest-beggars  whining  thanks  o'er  wheedled  bread. 

In  any  city  where  the  men  are  quick 

To  do  you  honor,  soothe  and  heal  their  sick. 

Using  your  golden  w^and  with  serpents  twined;  955 

And  say  to  all,  'The  King  who  seeks  to  find 

His  Starry  Realm  is  coming  now  to  you.' 

But  when  in  any  city  men  pursue 

The  w'ays  of  unbelief  and  worldly  phlegm, 

Walk  proudly  through  its  streets  and  say  to  them :  960 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  179 

'Ye  who  have  closed  your  doors  in  mean  distrust 

Against  us,  breathe  ye  now  the  choking  dust 

That  in  your  streets  our  winged  feet  have  stirred ! 

Yet  know  ye,  we  were  sent  to  bring  you  word 

That  soon  the  King  whose  tidings  we  convey,  965 

Seeking  his  Starry  Reahn,  shall  pass  this  way.' 

Go  now,  my  messengers,  and  ever  keep 

All  my  commands.    Behold,  like  harmless  sheep  Matt.  x.  16 

I  send  you  forth  the  ravening  wolves  among ; 

So  be  as  crafty  and  adroit  of  tongue  970 

As  Hermes'  sacred  serpents,  and  yet  be 

As  Aphrodite's  doves  from  venom  free." 

The  messengers  of  Love  and  Thought  withdrew,  Lk.  ix.  6 

And  went  to  do  his  bidding,  passing  through 

The  cities,  telling  that  the  King  approached,  975 

Seeking  his  Realm ;  and  ever  as  they  broached 

The  need  of  reapers  in  the  sacred  field. 

The  weak  they  strengthened,  and  the  sick  they  healed. 

But  Jesus  and  his  twelve  companions  stayed ;  Mk.  vi.  30-34 

And  next  they  clubbed  together  and  purveyed  980 

Provisions  for  a  picnic.     "Let  us  go." 

Said  he,  "to  some  secluded  spot,  and  know 

How  freedom  for  a  while  from  grave  pursuits 

The  mind  refreshes,  and  the  strength  recruits." 

So  joyously  aboard  the  ship  they  got  985 

And  sailed  away  to  a  sequestered  spot, 

To  have  an  outing  from  the  crowds  apart ; 

But  when  the  crowd  saw  them  take  ship  and  start 

They  followed  them  afoot  with  rapid  pace 

Along  the  shore,  and  at  the  picnic  place  990 

Pressed  round  the  gracious  Teacher.    Jesus  felt 

His  very  heart  with  tender  pity  melt 

To  see  how  few  of  life's  fair  things  belong 

To  common  folks,  who  by  the  rich  and  strong 

Are  plundered  and  downtrodden,  e'en  as  sheep  995 

Are  scattered  and  destroyed  when  on  them  leap 


i8o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  wolves,  fleet-footed  and  with  cruel  jaws, 

Who  prowl  in  packs  to  fill  their  hungry  maws; 

And  so  he  welcomed  there  the  crowds  that  pressed 

About  him  even  on  his  day  of  rest,  looo 

And  them  the  noble  truths  he  freely  taught 

That  holy  Seers  from  Heaven  to  Earth  have  brought. 

But  when  the  sun  low  to  the  west  had  sped  Lk.  ix.  12 

The  twelve  companions  came  to  him  and  said : 

"Dismiss  the  crowds,  that  they  may  go  away  1005 

To  villages  or  places  where  they  may 

In  the  surrounding  country  purchase  food ; 

For  there  is  none  in  this  wild  solitude." 

He  said  to  them:  "Nay;  these  are  guests  of  mine.         Matt.  xiv.  16 

And  ere  they  go  't  is  fit  that  they  should  dine."  loio 

But  they  replied :  "Two  fishes  and  five  loaves  Lk.  ix.  13-17 

Are  all  we  have.    Your  'guests'  have  come  in  droves, 

Forty-nine  hundred,  whom  we  did  not  call ; 

And  yet  you  say  that  we  should  feed  them  all." 

But  Jesus  said  to  them:  "Make  forty-nine  1015 

Mess-parties  of  them,  having  them  recline 

In  easy  posture  on  the  soft  green  sward." 

And  so  arranged,  e'en  as  the  sky  is  starred 

With  constellations  ruled  by  sacred  powers, 

He  likened  them  to  garden  beds  of  flowers ;  Mk.  vi.  39 

For  they  were  somewhat  gaudily  arrayed  1021 

In  colored  garments  rich  w4th  every  shade. 

Then  Jesus  took  the  loaves  and  fishes — seven 

Portions  of  food — and  while  the  vault  of  heaven 

He  circled  with  his  gaze,  contemplative,  1025 

Praying  the  seven  Planet-Gods  to  give 

Their  power  of  increase,  he  broke  up  the  food 

In  many  fragments  for  the  multitude. 

And  gave  them  to  the  twelve  to  serve  the  rest. 

They  ate,  and  had  their  fill.    When  every  guest  1030 

Had  finished,  each  companion  heaping  filled 

His  basket  from  the  morsels  that  were  spilled : 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  i8i 

Thus  twelve  big  basket  fills  in  all  they  gained 

By  gathering  up  the  fragments  that  remained. 

And  now  the  messengers  he  had  despatched,  Lk.  x.  17-20 

The  seventy-two  in  lovely  couples  matched,  1036 

Returned  rejoicing,  their  report  to  bring, 

Thus  saying :  "In  your  name,  O  gracious  King, 

All  honored  us,  and  e'en  the  Demigods 

Obeyed  us  when  they  saw  our  serpent-rods."  1040 

He  said  to  them :  "I,  gazing  o'er  the  world. 

Beheld  our  foe,  the  Evil  Genius,  hurled 

From  heaven,  writhing  'neath  the  fiery  lash 

Swung  from  on  high,  the  lightning's  jagged  flash ; 

And  with  him  all  the  hateful  brood  who  own  1045 

Through  him  their  power  were  from  high  heaven  thrown. 

And  now  he  roams  the  earth ;  but  unto  you 

I  give  the  power  whereby  you  can  subdue 

That  Evil  Genius,  and  receive  no  harm  : 

For  with  your  wand's  mysterious  light  you  charm  1050 

The  duteous  Demigods,  and  with  its  fire 

Destroy  the  stinging  scorpions  of  desire. 

But  natheless  rejoice  not  that  from  choice 

The  Demigods  obey  you ;  but  rejoice 

That  as  the  powers  which  you  personify  1051; 

Your  names  are  written  in  the  pictured  sky." 

Of  all  the  men  of  learning  one  alone  Matt.  viii.  19-22 

To  Jesus  came  and  his  desire  made  known 

To  learn  the  sacred  science ;  and  said  he : 

"Teacher,  where'er  thou  goest  I  '11  follow  thee."  1060 

But  Jesus  spoke  to  him  these  warning  words : 

"The  foxes  dwell  in  holes,  and  e'en  the  birds 

That  swiftly  wing  the  air  abide  in  nests; 

But  nowhere  on  this  earth  his  head  he  rests 

Who  calmly  studies  through  unnumbered  years  1065 

The  sacred  science  of  the  self-born  Seers: 

For  he  no  home  or  place  of  rest  can  find 

Save  in  the  Realm  of  the  Eternal  Mind." 


iS2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Said  one  who  longed  his  teaching  to  receive : 

"Teacher,  I  '11  follow  thee;  but  give  me  leave  1070 

To  bury  now  my  father."    Jesus  said: 

"Come  thou  with  me,  and  let  the  living-dead 

Bury  their  dead."    Another  also  tried  Lk.  ix.  61,  62 

To  gain  delay,  and  said :  "Awhile  abide, 

Teacher,  for  me,  till  I  have  bid  farewell  io75 

To  all  the  folks  who  at  my  homestead  dwell." 

But  Jesus  said  to  him :  "Why  tarry  now  ? 

No  man  who  grasps  the  handles  of  the  plow, 

But  fondly  keeps  his  face  turned  back  to  see 

The  folks  behind  him,  can  keep  pace  with  me :  1080 

None  whom  the  petty  cares  of  life  o'er  whelm 

Is  qualified  to  gain  the  Starry  Realm. 

Whoever  comes  to  me,  yet  loves  me  less  Lk.  xiv.  26 

Than  mortal  kindred  who  his  home  may  bless. 

Or  even  than  his  soul — the  dual  mean  1085 

His  mortal  and  immortal  selves  between — 

Can  not  be  my  disciple.     For,  indeed.  Matt.  x.  34-39 

The  Self  comes  not  on  earth  to  sow  the  seed 

Of  poppied  lethargy  which  men  call  peace 

When  from  the  soul's  ennobling  toil  they  cease :  1090 

Nay;  when  he  comes  he  sows  the  seed  of  strife. 

The  struggle  to  achieve  immortal  life. 

The  Self  Divine  must  sever  that  which  dies 

From  that  which  dies  not.    E'en  the  loving  ties 

Of  family,  of  souls  conjoined  by  birth,  1^95 

Restrain  the  soul  and  bind  it  to  the  earth. 

And  he  who  loves  his  parents  and  the  rest 

More  than  he  loves  the  Self  has  thus  confessed 

That  he  is  yet  too  puny  to  begin 

My  high  discipleship  and  discipline:  IIOO 

Yea ;  he  has  yet  to  learn  that  all  who  live 

Are  but  a  family  superlative. 

Whoso  my  true  disciple  wills  to  be,  Lk.  ix.  23,  24 

Let  him  renounce,  at  once  and  finally, 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  183 

The  fancied  self  of  him,  that  fondly  clings  1105 

To  animal  existence  and  the  things 

Which  to  the  Self  Eternal  are  but  dross, 

And  let  him  patiently  sustain  his  cross — 

The  feeble  human  form  of  moulded  clay— 

And  follow  me  upon  the  shining  way.  1 1 10 

He,  selfish,  who  his  soul  would  find  and  save, 

Shall  lose  it  in  the  gloom  beyond  the  grave ; 

But  he,  forgetting  self,  who  seeks  to  bless 

All  beings,  and  in  lofty  carelessness 

Loses  his  soul  among  the  whole  mankind,  1 1 1 5 

In  the  Eternal  Light  his  soul  shall  find. 

Consider  well  your  strength,  not  once,  but  thrice,       Lk.  xiv.  28-34 

Ere  you  essay  the  final  sacrifice. 

For  which  of  you,  if  he  had  fully  willed 

A  splendid  castle  for  himself  to  build,  1120 

Would  not  first  estimate  the  cost,  and  count 

His  gold,  to  know  he  had  the  full  amount 

For  its  completion?    Else  when  he  had  laid 

A  fine  foundation,  he  should  then  be  stayed 

For  lack  of  funds,  and  all  beholding  it  1125 

Should  laugh  at  that  foundation,  and  should  twit 

Its  fatuous  builder,  saying :  'He  began 

To  build  his  castle ;  but,  poor  foolish  man, 

He  could  not  finish  it,  and  now  he  owns 

Nothing  on  earth  but  those  foundation-stones.'  1130 

Again,  what  king,  should  threatening  war-clouds  lower 

Over  his  realm  and  some  adjoining  power. 

Would  not  take  counsel  with  his  generals  first, 

To  estimate  his  strength,  before  he  durst 

Engage  in  war  when  he  could  only  bring  ii35 

Ten  thousand  men  against  the  other  king. 

Who  marched  with  twenty  thousand?    li  he  lack 

The  force  to  meet  the  enemy's  attack. 

He  sends,  before  his  peril  may  increase, 

An  embassy  to  sue  for  terms  of  peace.  1140 


i84  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Now,  he  who  will  not  count  the  cost,  and  make 

The  great  renunciation  for  my  sake, 

Relinquishing  all  worldly  ties,  and  all 

The  mental  joys  that  may  his  soul  enthrall, 

Can  not  be  my  disciple.    Many  prize  II45 

False  learning,  built  of  thoughts  that  crystallize 

To  forms  inert,  until  the  soul  is  killed — 

Crushed  'neath  the  stones  wherewith  the  mind  is  filled. 

No  man,  unless  his  inner  eye  is  blind. 

With  thought-concretions  burdens  thus  his  mind.  1150 

Even  the  lighter  lore  that  men  call  wit 

Grows  stale ;  for  though  they  truly  liken  it 

To  spice,  and  spice  is  good,  yet  if  it  may 

Its  flavor  lose,  the  spice  is  thrown  away.  Matt.  v.  13 

No  man  can  serve,  whose  rectitude  is  strict,  Alatt.  vi.  24,  25 

Two  masters  when  their  interests  conflict;  1156 

For  if  he  serves  the  one  with  loyalty 

He  wrongs  the  other  to  the  same  degree. 

You  can  not,  even  for  your  selfish  use, 

Serve  both  the  Heavenly  and  the  Stygian  Zeus :  11 60 

One  rules  above,  the  other  rules  below  ; 

If  Zeus  you  serve,  grim  Plouton  lets  you  go. 

Seek  not  his  shadowy  realm,  nor  cultivate 

The  psychic  powers  of  which  pretenders  prate, 

Who  think  the  rules  of  diet  they  contrive  1 165 

Will  somehow  make  the  lunar  body  thrive : 

Such  powers  all  fail,  and  in  the  world  of  shades 

The  psychic  form  of  every  mortal  fades. 

It  is  enough  if  you  obey  with  care  Lk.  xii.  23 

The  laws  of  health,  and  eat  what  simple  fare  1170 

The  body  needs ;  then  let  your  soul  be  fed 

At  banquets  which  the  gracious  Gods  have  spread. 

And  care  not  if  your  body  be  not  dressed 

In  pleasing  raiment.    For  what  boots  the  rest. 

If  you  are  sound  in  health  and  pure  of  soul?  II75 

Can  you,  by  focussed  force  of  thought  control  Matt.  vi.  27 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  185 

That  little  vibrant  centre  in  your  brain 

From  which  all  organs  in  your  body  gain 

Their  vital  force,  and  which  compels  and  guides 

The  body's  growth,  wherein  the  soul  abides  ?  1 180 

If  not,  then  why  distress  your  mind  to  know  Lk.  xii.  26 

The  means  to  make  your  psychic  body  grow  ? 

And  wherefore  let  your  thoughts  on  raiment  dwell?  Matt.  vi. 

Consider  how,  in  meadow-land  and  dell,  28-30,  33 

The  lilies  grow,  and  all  the  flowers  of  spring:  1 185 

They  neither  spin  nor  weave,  and  yet  no  king-, 

With  crown  and  royal  robes,  was  e'er  arrayed 

Like  one  of  these.    Now,  if  the  Father  made 

Such  raiment  for  the  wild  flowers  that  to-day 

Breathe  beauty,  but  to-morrow  fade  away  11 90 

'Neath  the  too  ardent  glances  of  the  sun. 

Shall  he  not  honor  you,  and  every  one 

Attaining  his  Eternal  Realm  of  Light, 

With  robes  of  glory  dazzling  to  the  sight? 

Seek,  then,  the  Realm  that  evermore  endures,  II95 

And  all  the  powers  and  glories  shall  be  yours. 

Beware  of  all  pretended  seers  and  shams  Matt.  vii.  15 

Who  come  to  you  in  guise  of  guileless  lambs. 

But  whose  dark  souls,  which  hideous  demons  swa}-, 

Are  ravening  wolves  that  prowl  for  human  prey.  1200 

And  follow  not  the  exoteric  priests,  Matt.  xv.  14 

Who  celebrate  religious  rites  and  feasts — 

Unmeaning  to  themselves  as  to  their  flocks — 

And  teach  strange  doctrines  they  call  orthodox. 

To  their  dogmatic  teaching  give  no  heed  :  1205 

Blind  guides  are  they.    And  if  a  blind  man  lead 

Another  blind  man,  follower  and  guide 

Lito  the  selfsame  pit  shall  surely  slide. 

The  man  who  makes  the  priest  his  teacher  shows  Lk.  vi.  40 

How  little  of  the  larger  life  he  knows ;  12 10 

And  like  the  priestly  model  he  beholds 

His  own  too  waxen  character  he  moulds. 


i86  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Be  circumspect,  and  through  the  narrow  gate  Matt.  vii.  13,  14 

Enter  ye  in.    Life's  pathways  separate: 

The  one,  so  very  broad  and  easy,  slopes  121 5 

To  where  the  mighty  gate  of  Plouton  opes; 

Thither  the  many  go ;  a  very  few 

In  Tartaros  forever  sink  from  view ; 

But  all  the  others  through  the  gate  of  birth 

Rise,  purified,  to  live  again  on  earth.  1220 

The  other  is  a  small  old  path  that  winds 

Steeply  up  rocky  places ;  he  who  finds 

The  lofty  summit  that  it  rises  to 

Sees  there  a  golden  gate,  and  passing  through 

Enters  the  Starry  Realm:  thus  having  found  1225 

His  kingdom,  he  'mid  deathless  Gods  is  crowned. 

Yet  few  are  they  who  tread  that  path,  and  win 

The  portal  of  the  Realm  and  pass  within. 

Keep  asking,  and  the  Self's  most  precious  gift  Lk.  xi.  9,  10 

Of  Seership  shall  be  yours;  and  when  you  lift  1230 

Your  vision  to  the  stars,  and  search  the  height, 

The  small  old  path  will  shine  before  your  sight ; 

And  having  reached  the  portal  of  the  King, 

Knock,  and  the  golden  gate  will  open  swing. 

Now,  every  pure  disciple  w^ho  thus  asks  1235 

Unceasingly,  and  does  the  twelve  great  tasks 

That  make  for  mastery  of  self,  receives 

The  gift  of  Seership;  every  Seer  who  leaves 

Life's  beaten  highway  may  the  path  behold. 

And  when  he  knocks,  to  him  the  gate  of  gold  1240 

Opens ;  then  entering  on  winged  feet 

He  with  the  blest  Immortals  takes  his  seat. 

Not  every  one  of  those  who  supplicate  Matt.  vii.  21,  24 

Can  scale  the  height,  and  through  the  golden  gate 

Enter  the  Father's  Realm.    For  not  until  1245 

He  does  on  earth  the  heavenly  Father's  will 

May  man,  while  wearing  yet  the  garb  of  clay, 

The  glories  of  the  heavenly  world  survey. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  187 

Many  are  they  who  think  they  have  discerned 

An  easier  way,  and  so  aside  have  turned  1250 

From  that  steep  path  that  daunts  the  dallying  soul, 

Yet  claim  to  follow  me,  and  would  cajole 

Me  to  receive  them,  falsely  saying  thus : 

'Teacher,  thy  potent  name  has  made  of  us 

True  Seers,  and  we  indeed  have  oft  expelled  1255 

The  evil  spirits,  and  we  have  excelled 

In  many  magic  arts,  in  thy  great  name.' 

But  unto  these  I  say :  'Cease  ye  to  claim 

That  you  have  gained  your  psychic  powers  of  me, 

Ye  dabblers  in  the  arts  of  sorcery,  1260 

Who  make  of  sacred  science  a  pretence. 

I  never  knew  you,  and  I  bid  you  hence !' 

Now,  every  one  who  may  his  ear  incline 

To  hear  these  plainly  worded  truths  of  mine. 

And,  understanding,  gives  to  them  effect,  1265 

Is  like  a  man  who,  going  to  erect  Lk.  vi,,  48 

A  dwelling-house,  first  wielded  well  the  spade. 

Dug  deep,  and  then  a  firm  foundation  laid 

Upon  the  rock,  and  built  upon  the  same. 

And  when  the  rainfall,  flood  and  tempest  came,       Matt.  vii.  25-27 

And  beat  upon  that  house,  it  stood  the  shock ;  1271 

Because  't  was  firmly  founded  on  the  rock. 

And  every  one  who  hears  the  words  I  speak. 

Yet  disregards  them,  and  departs  to  seek 

Instruction  of  the  charlatans  who  teach  1275 

That  men  with  little  toil  the  Realm  may  reach. 

May  well  be  likened  to  a  man  who  built 

His  house  upon  the  yielding  sand  and  silt. 

And  when  the  rainfall,  flood  and  tempest  came. 

And  beat  upon  that  house,  its  weakened  frame  1280 

Could  not  the  raging  elements  withstand. 

And  so  collapsed  upon  the  treacherous  sand." 

Jesus  one  day  expelled  a  meddlesome  Lk.  xi.  14 

Possessing  ghost  that  made  its  victim  dumb; 


i88  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  when  the  man  was  freed,  his  tongue  he  found,  1285 

Whereat  the  gaping  crowd  who  stood  around 

Were  filled  with  wonder.     But  the  outer  priests,  Matt.  xii.  24 

Who  herd  the  many  as  they  would  dumb  beasts. 

With  rancor  said:  "This  Therapeut  no  doubt  Lk,  xi.  15,  17 

Employs  the  power  of  Plouton  to  drive  out  1290 

The  evil  spirits."    Jesus,  knowing  well 

How  priests  thus  use  the  fabled  King  of  Hell 

To  keep  their  followers  subdued,  replied : 

"Whene'er  a  king  is  openly  defied. 

And  internecine  war  embroils  his  realm,  1295 

His  throne  is  shaken,  and  disasters  whelm 

The  land  he  rules.     And  every  house  where  all 

The  inmates  are  at  strife  must  surely  fall. 

If,  then,  the  grim  old  King  who  rules  the  shades      Matt.  xii.  25-28 

Now  lends  his  power  to  mortals,  and  thus  aids  1300 

Those  who  rebel  against  him  and  have  scanned 

The  world  etern,  how  can  his  kingdom  stand  ? 

H  I  by  using  Plouton's  power  expel 

The  shades  that  may  in  sickly  persons  dwell, 

What  other  power  do  your  disciples  boast  1305 

Who  with  fantastic  rites  cast  out  a  ghost  ? 

Let,  then,  your  own  barbaric  rites  be  proof 

That  heaven  brings  no  power  to  your  behoof. 

But  if,  indeed,  it  is  the  heavenly  Air, 

The  holy  Breath,  that  aids  me  when  by  prayer  13 10 

I  purify  a  man  who  is  possessed 

By  some  foul  shade,  and  drive  away  the  pest, 

Then  surely,  though  you  claim  to  be  so  wise, 

The  heavenly  Power  has  ta'en  you  by  surprise. 

Now,  when  a  stalwart  warrior,  who  has  put  13 15 

His  armor  on,  thus  clad  from  head  to  foot 

In  metal,  stands  prepared  with  spear  and  sword 

To  guard  his  mansion  and  his  hard-won  hoard, 

His  house  is  safe,  with  all  his  treasured  pelf. 

But  should  another,  stronger  than  himself,  1320 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  189 

Attack  and  conquer  him,  the  robber  binds 

The  man,  and  having  stolen  all  he  finds 

Inside  the  house,  strips  from  that  man  robust 

The  panoply  in  which  he  placed  his  trust. 

Guard  well  the  twelve-doored  mansion  of  the  soul  1325 

Against  obsessing  spirits  that  control 

The  mortals  who,  from  sickliness  or  sin. 

By  ghosts  are  conquered,  or  who  call  them  in. 

Who  would  his  house  invincibly  defend 

When  evil  spirits  may  with  him  contend  1330 

Must  all  his  forces  with  the  Self  unite : 

He  with  the  Self  must  join,  or  he  must  fight 

Against  the  Self;  and  he,  if  not  allied 

With  the  Eternal,  scatters  far  and  wide 

The  feebly  guarded  fruitage  of  his  toils;  ^335 

For  plundering  spirits  will  divide  the  spoils. 

And  little  it  avails  a  man  possessed 

When  some  one  else  expels  the  ghostly  pest : 

The  earth-bound  spirit,  when  he  's  driven  out. 

Afar  in  rainless  deserts  roams  about,  1340 

Seeking  some  place  whose  burning  heat  may  dry 

The  earthly  lusts  he  can  not  gratify; 

And  finding  not  a  region  where  the  heat 

With  his  own  boiling  passions  can  compete, 

He  says:  T  will  to  that  same  house  return  1345 

Whence  I  was  driven  out,  and  there  sojourn.' 

And  when  he  comes,  he  finds  it  neatly  sw^ept 

And  put  in  order,  though  no  guard  is  kept 

Upon  it,  and  the  door  is  left  ajar ; 

Then  going  out  he  gets  seven  ghosts  who  are  I350 

Worse  even  than  himself,  and  through  the  door 

They  enter  in  and  dwell  there.    As  before 

The  man  is  ghost-possessed,  but  he  is  cursed 

With  seven  spirits  now,  besides  the  first." 

Then  certain  priests  and  wiselings,  raking  o'er         Matt.  xii.  38,  39 

Their  scanty  stock  of  astrologic  lore.  1-356 


190  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Said :  "Teacher,  tell  us,  from  what  stellar  sign 

Proceeds  the  Power  which  you  pronounce  divine?" 

He  answered :  "He  to  whom  that  Power  unbars 

The  golden  gate  is  ruler  of  the  stars;  1360 

But  all  the  souls  who  wear  upon  their  necks 

The  yoke  of  bondage  to  the  power  of  sex, 

And  therefore  now  in  Hades,  now  on  earth 

Abide,  and  through  the  gates  of  death  and  birth 

Pass  and  repass,  in  bodies  manifold,  1365 

Are  held  by  Fate  and  by  the  stars  controlled. 

But  if  you  seek  the  constellation  meant 

For  men  unversed  in  Truth,  but  sapient. 

Then  lift  your  eyes  and  view  the  vaulted  sky 

Where  Ketos  spreads  enormously  on  high;  1370 

Largest  of  all  the  starry  signs  is  he, 

The  mighty  monster  of  the  heavenly  sea. 

Who  symbolizes  well  the  lower  mind, 

Which  reasons  falsely,  since  to  Truth  't  is  blind." 

When  to  his  native  city  he  returned,  Matt.  xiii.  54-58 

And  his  disciples  with  him,  Jesus  yearned  1376 

To  bring  enlightenment  to  all  the  folk 

Whom  he  had  known  since  childhood ;  so  he  spoke 

Wise  words  to  them  when  he  had  entered  in 

The  temple  crowded  with  his  kith  and  kin.  1380 

But  they  derided  him  and  his  discourse, 

And  said :  "From  what  mysterious  hidden  source 

Could  he,  familiar  to  us  all,  have  gained 

Wisdom  which  we  ourselves  have  not  attained? 

Can  he  indeed  in  magic  arts  be  versed  1385 

When  in  our  city  he  was  born  and  nursed  ? 

For  is  he  not,  in  fact,  the  oldest  son 

Of  Joseph,  master-builder,  and  of  one 

Named  Mary,  Joseph's  wife?    And  these  young  men 

Who  follovk'  him,  our  fellow-citizen —  1390 

Are  not  the  five  his  brothers  all,  whose  names 

Are  Judas,  Simon,  Andrew,  John  and  James  ? 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  191 

And  are  not  these  his  seven  sisters,  known 

To  us  since  they  from  babyhood  have  grown  ?" 

And  so  they  took  offence ;  for  in  their  eyes  1395 

None  but  a  stranger  could  be  great  and  wise, 

Nor  could  a  man  be  perfect  if  not  dead. 

But  Jesus  turned  to  them  who  scoffed,  and  said :  Mk.  vi.  4,  5 

"A  Seer  is  not  dishonored  to  his  face 

Save  by  his  friends  and  in  his  native  place."  1400 

Balked  by  their  incredulity  and  phlegm, 

Enlightenment  he  could  not  bring  to  them ; 

For  wisdom,  power  and  grace  no  Seer  imparts 

To  men  of  mean  and  unreceptive  hearts. 

So  from  that  stifling  temple  he  withdrew,  Matt.  xiii.  1-3 

And  went  to  breathe  the  purer  air  that  blew  1406 

Refreshingly  along  the  wave-washed  strand. 

There  by  the  sea  he  rested  on  the  sand ; 

But  when  a  crowd  came  round  him  he  arose, 

And  entering  the  ship,  its  prow  he  chose  1410 

As  't  were  his  chair,  and  thus  began  to  teach 

The  eager  throng  of  listeners  on  the  beach : 

''To  what  shall  we  compare  the  Realm  Divine?  Mk.  iv.  30-32 

Or  how  with  allegoric  speech  define 

The  consciousness  in  Godhead  merged?    But  nay;  14^5 

By  no  similitude  can  we  display 

That  Starry  Realm  commensurate  with  the  All. 

Yet  small  is  its  beginning,  very  small : 

'T  is  like  a  tiny  mustard  seed,  which  shows 

Among  the  least  of  seeds,  yet  quickly  grows,  Matt.  xiii.  32 

When  sown  in  goodly  soil,  to  be  a  tree,  1421 

Compared  with  lesser  plants,  and  gracefully 

Waves  leafy  branches  from  a  sturdy  stem, 

And  feathered  songsters  safely  perch  on  them. 

For  thus  the  little  seed  that  germinates  Mk.  iv.  26,  2^ 

By  its  inherent  virtue  and  creates  1426 

A  living  plant  from  elemental  food 

Affords  a  natural  similitude 


192  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Of  man's  unfoldnient  when  he  has  enshrined 

The  germ  of  holy  wisdom  in  his  mind  :  1430 

It  is  as  if  a  man,  with  httle  toil, 

Should  sow  good  seed  in  deep  and  fertile  soil, 

And  while  he  greets  the  days  with  placid  brow. 

The  seed  springs  up  and  grows,  he  knows  not  how. 

'T  is  thus.     Behold  the  Sower  w^ent  out  to  sow  ;        Matt.  xiii.  3-8 

And  as  he  sowed,  some  of  the  seeds  were  showered  1436 

Along  the  roadside,  by  a  careless  throw, 

And  these  the  little  twittering  birds  devoured : 
And  other  seeds  in  stony  places  fell, 

Where  soil  was  scant,  and  there  they  sprouted  soon,  1440 

And  for  a  little  while  grew  very  well ; 

But  rain  was  tardy,  and  the  sun  at  noon 
Beat  warmly  down,  and  all  those  tender  shoots. 

Thus  nursed  by  soil  too  shallow  for  their  needs, 
Perished  because  they  had  but  stunted  roots:  1445 

And  others  fell  among  the  prickly  weeds 
That  rankly  grew  in  an  uncared-for  ditch, 

And  by  the  weeds  \vere  choked  and  crowded  out : 
And  others  fell  upon  deep  soil  and  rich, 

Where  they  grew^  firm  of  root  and  strong  of  sprout,  1450 

And  yielded  increase,  when  the  field  was  tolled. 
Of  thirty,  sixty,  and  a  hundredfold. 
The  Great  Hierophant  with  mystic  fan.  Matt.  xiii.  24-30 

By  whom  the  Realm's  deep  mysteries  are  revealed, 
Is  likened  to  a  thrifty  husbandman  1455 

Who  sowed  good  seed  in  his  well-harrowed  field; 
But  while  his  workers  slumbered,  came  by  night 

His  enemy,  who  sowed  among  the  wheat 
The  seeds  of  darnel,  wreaking  thus  his  spite. 

And  stole  away.     When  summer's  humid  heat  1460 

Had  caused  the  wheat  to  grow^  till,  fully  eared. 

It  promised  golden  grain  and  needful  bread. 
The  worthless  darnel  also  then  appeared. 

Then  to  the  husbandman  the  workers  said : 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  193 

'Master,  did  you  not  sow  good  seed  and  clean  ?  1465 

Then  why  does  darnel  now  so  thickly  show?' 
Said  he :  'Some  enemy,  of  spirit  mean. 

Has  done  this  thing.'    They  asked  him :  'Shall  we  go 
And  weed  the  darnel  out  ?'    He  answered  :  'Nay ; 

Lest  you  in  plucking  up  the  weeds  may  do  1470 

Much  damage  to  the  wheat ;  so  let  them  stay 

Until  the  harvest,  when  I  '11  say  to  you. 
First  gather  up  and  burn  the  weeds,  before 
The  wheat  you  reap  and  in  the  granary  store.' 
The  Science  of  the  Realm  is  likened  to  Matt.  xiii.  44 

A  buried  treasure  which  a  man  once  found  1476 

When  digging  in  a  field.     The  man  withdrew, 

Leaving  the  treasure  hidden  in  the  ground ; 
And  joyful  o'er  his  find  thus  kept  concealed, 

He  sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  that  field.  1480 

The  seeker  for  the  Realm  is  like,  indeed,  Matt.  xiii.  45 

A  merchant  seeking  over  all  the  earth 
A  splendid  pearl,  all  others  to  exceed ; 

And  having  found  that  pearl  of  wondrous  worth, 
He  bought  it,  though  he  had  to  sacrifice  1485 

All  that  he  had  on  earth  to  pay  the  price. 
The  reminiscence  of  the  Realm  extends  Matt.  xiii.  47,  48,  52 

Throughout  the  World-soul  in  the  spatial  vast. 
And  all  its  hoarded  knowledge  comprehends : 

'T  is  like  a  mighty  dragnet  which  was  cast  1490 

Into  the  sea,  and  in  its  meshes  thralled 

All  kinds  of  fish  that  'neath  the  surface  lurked, 
And  which,  when  it  was  filled,  the  fishers  hauled 

Upon  the  beach.     Then  sitting  down  they  worked 
At  sorting  out  the  fish :  those  good  for  food  1495 

They  gathered  into  baskets ;  but  the  rest. 
The  useless  ones,  upon  the  sands  they  strewed. 

Now,  every  true  disciple  who  is  blest 
With  intuitions  clear,  when  he  revives 

The  memories  which  his  eternal  Nous  1500 


194  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Recorded  in  his  soul  through  many  hves, 

Is  hkened  to  the  master  of  a  house 
Who  enters  in  his  strong-room  to  behold 
His  many  treasures  there,  both  new  and  old. 
The  powers  which  now  the  coming  Realm  await     Matt,  xxv,  1-12 

Are  like  ten  bridesmaids  who  were  told  to  bide  1506 

Until  the  bridegroom — who  by  hap  was  late — 

Rejoicingly  should  come  to  claim  his  bride. 
Of  those  ten  maidens,  five  were  scatter-brained, 

And  five  were  provident  and  used  to  toil.  1510 

The  foolish  five,  when  torches  they  obtained, 

Neglected  to  provide  themselves  with  oil 
To  make  their  torches  burn  with  brilliant  light ; 

The  five,  however,  who  were  prudent  kept 
Cruets  of  oil  to  make  their  torches  bright.  15^5 

The  maidens,  worn  by  weary  waiting,  slept ; 
But  at  the  midnight  hour  a  cry  arose : 

'Behold,  the  bridegroom  comes !    Let  each  and  all 
Arise  and  haste  to  meet  him  as  he  goes, 

With  his  companions,  to  the  banquet-hall.'  1520 

The  maidens  from  their  slumber  then  awoke, 

And  lighted  at  the  fire  their  torches :  five 
Burned  brightly,  for  they  had  been  left  to  soak 

In  oil ;  but  five  refused  to  keep  alive 
The  light-bestowing  flame,  and  only  sent  1525 

Obscuring  smoke,  which  deeper  darkness  spread. 
Then  to  the  maidens  who  were  provident 

The  scatter-brained  and  heedless  maidens  said : 
'Please  lend  us  oil;  our  torches  give  no  light.' 

The  others  answered :  'No;  we  can  not  lend,  1530 

For  we  have  none  to  spare.    If  such  your  plight. 

Then  go  and  buy  wherever  oil  they  vend.' 
But  while  those  maidens  went  away  to  buy, 

The  bridegroom  came,  and  all  who  were  prepared 
Went  with  him  to  the  feast,  each  waving  high  1535 

A  torch  that  in  the  darkness  brightly  flared. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  195 

The  door  was  shut,  and  entrance  was  denied 

The  heedless  maidens  when  they  tardily 
Came  to  the  banquet-hall.     They  sadly  cried : 

'Master,  unbar  the  door  for  us!'    Said  he:  1540 

'Nay ;  for  you  did  not  greet  me  when  I  came, 
And  now  yourselves  I  openly  disclaim.' 
The  Self  ineffable,  the  Mighty  One  Matt.  xxii.  2-13 

Who  rules  the  Realm,  is  likened  to  a  king 
Who  made  a  marriage  banquet  for  his  son,  1545 

And  sent  his  servants  forth  with  word  to  bring 
The  guests  he  had  invited.    But  they  all 

Refused  to  come,  and  then  most  patiently 
He  sent  out  other  messengers  to  call 

Those  guests  uncourteous.    'Tell  them,'  said  he,  1550 

*That  all  my  preparations  have  been  made 

Most  sumptuously,  and  bid  them  haste  to  come, 
So  that  the  wedding- feast  be  not  delayed.' 

But  they  refused  to  do  his  bidding:  some 
Went  to  the  country,  to  their  own  estates,  1555 

While  others,  taking  ship,  sailed  far  away 
To  seek,  as  traders,  profit  that  awaits 

Them  who  adventurous  voyages  essay; 
And  those  who  stayed  at  home  laid  violent  hand 

Upon  the  messengers,  and  murdered  them.  1560 

The  king  did  then  in  righteous  wrath  command 

His  soldiers  to  march  forth,  and  did  condemn 
Those  murderers  to  death,  and  did  consign 

To  the  avenging  flames  their  dwellings  all. 
Then  said  he  to  his  servants:  'None  recline  1565 

At  table  in  my  waiting  banquet-hall. 
All  those  respectable  and  busy  folks 

Whom  first  I  called  were  murderously  proud — 
Now  o'er  their  bones  their  burning  city  smokes! 

So  go  ye  forth  among  the  ragged  crowd  1570 

Who  haunt  the  cross-roads  where  the  matrons  bring 

The  viands  meant  for  Hekate,  and  say. 


196  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

You  now  may  dine  on  dainties  with  the  king, 

For  he  invites  the  common  folks  to-day. 
And  give  them  wedding-garments  to  replace  1575 

The  wretched  rags  no  righteous  man  should  wear 
When  in  the  palace  he  is  face  to  face 

With  his  great  king,  and  eats  of  royal  fare.' 
Then  into  every  place  where  three  ways  meet 

The  messengers  went  forth,  and  rounded  up  1580 

The  hunger-driven  ones  who  there  retreat 

On  Hekate's  unsavory  fare  to  sup. 
They  asked  them  not  their  names  or  origin, 

Or  to  what  deme  or  cult  each  one  belonged. 
But,  noble  and  ignoble,  brought  them  in,  1585 

Until  with  guests  the  banquet-hall  was  thronged. 
But  when  the  king  came  in,  he  saw  one  guest 

Who  had  not  put  his  wedding-garment  on, 
And  him  the  king  reproachfully  addressed : 

'How  came  you  thus,  when  you  were  told  to  don  1 590 

The  clean  robes  given  you  ?    Why  did  you  come 

Unto  my  banquet  clothed  in  rags  impure  ?' 
That  graceless  guest  for  very  shame  was  dumb. 

Then  said  the  king :  'Seize  ye  this  dirty  boor. 
And  cast  him  out,  that  like  a  hungry  beast  1595 

He  may  return  to  Hekate's  foul  feast.'  " 

Jesus,  whene'er  he  taught  the  outer  crowd,  Matt,  xiii,  34 

In  parables  would  thus  his  meaning  shroud, 
Nor  would  he,  save  by  allegoric  speech, 

The  sacred  mysteries  to  the  rabble  teach.  1600 

And  his  companions,  when  alone  with  him,  Mk.  iv.  10 

Said:  "Teacher,  when  their  vision  is  so  dim,  Matt.  xiii.  10,  11 

Why  did  you  teach  those  people  on  the  strand 
In  parables  they  can  not  understand?" 

He  answered  them:  "The  mysteries  are  known  1605 

Only  to  Seers,  whose  souls  are  fully  grown. 
How  can  the  mind  that  wears  a  swaddling-clout 
Search  for  the  truth  or  ever  find  it  out  ? 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  197 

Whoso  believes  that  Truth  is  veiled  will  find 

No  veil  except  the  clout  that  swathes  his  mind.  1610 

The  Real  is  never  hid  unless  it  take  Mk.  iv.  22,  1 1 

Illusion's  form,  and  wear  its  robes  opaque; 

But  that  Illusion  fades  and  disappears 

As  man  surmounts  the  generative  spheres. 

To  the  profane  the  sacred  truths  are  told  161 5 

In  specious  allegories,  which  unfold 

An  inner  sense  that  is  the  outer  sheath 

Of  greater  mysteries  hidden  underneath : 

For  they  are  fashioned  cunningly  to  hide 

The  secrets  which  they  seemingly  confide.  1 620 

For  know,  the  True,  the  Beautiful,  the  Good, 

Can  only  by  the  pure  be  understood. 

To  you,  who  true  discipleship  have  gained, 

The  mysteries  of  the  Realm  shall  be  explained ; 

But  all  the  dullards  whom  Delusion  blinds  1625 

On  myths  and  parables  may  whet  their  minds. 

Make  not  the  temple- fane  a  house  for  dogs.  Matt.  vii.  6 

And  do  not  pose  as  Mystery-pedagogues, 

Imparting  holy  truths  to  graceless  churls. 

As  though  you  fed  fair  Wisdom's  precious  pearls  1630 

To  swine,  who  would  but  tread  them  in  the  mire. 

And  venting  on  you  all  their  brutish  ire 

Because  you  fed  them  pearls  instead  of  husks, 

Would  turn  about  and  rend  you  with  their  tusks." 

Aspiring  parents  unto  Jesus  brought  Mk.  x.  13,  14 

Children  of  years  too  tender  to  be  taught  1636 

The  truths  profound,  yet  hoping  he  might  touch 

With  hallowing  hand  the  babes  they  loved  so  much ; 

And  his  disciples  kept  reproving  all 

\\'ho  brought  him  followers  so  young  and  small  1640 

But  Jesus  was  displeased  when  he  beheld 

The  parents  thus  uncivilly  repelled. 

And  said  to  his  disciples  feelingly : 

"Nay;  let  the  little  children  come  to  me; 


igS  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Forbid  them  not:  for  they  are  types  on  earth  1645 

Of  all  who  reach  the  Realm  through  solar  birth. 

See  that  you  do  not  in  the  least  despise  Matt,  xvi'ii.  10 

These  little  ones,  or  think  yourselves  more  wise ; 

For  though  on  earth  their  outer  forms  are  seen, 

Their  souls  yet  tarry  in  the  Height  serene:  1650 

Still  undebased  by  passion's  lightless  fire, 

They  linger  in  the  presence  of  the  Sire." 

And  folding  them  in  his  protecting  arms,  Mk.  x.  16 

He  dwelt  at  length  on  childhood's  artless  charms. 

Said  his  disciples:  "Now,  if  all  who  win  Matt,  xviii.  i,  3,  4 

The  Starry  Realm  must,  ere  they  enter  in,  1656 

Be  born  anew,  becoming  infants — then, 

Who  in  the  Realm  are  adults,  full-grown  men  ?" 

Said  he  to  them :  "To  win  his  heavenly  place 

Man  must  turn  back  and  rapidly  retrace  1660 

The  course  by  which  his  soul,  through  countless  years, 

Has  wandered  blindly  in  the  outer  spheres ; 

And  none  has  e'er  the  mystic  border  crossed 

Till  he  regained  the  child-state  he  had  lost. 

Thus  stooping  to  become  a  little  child,  1665 

He  in  the  Realm  a  full-grown  man  is  styled." 

Said  John,  another  theme  to  substitute,  Mk.  ix.  38-40 

"Master,  we  saw  a  roving  Therapeut 

Who  cast  out  spirits  by  the  Power  you  use ; 

And  we  forbade  him,  for  he  did  not  choose  1670 

To  go  along  with  us."    But  Jesus  said : 

"Forbid  him  not ;  for  none  among  'the  dead' 

In  whom  that  Living  Power  may  energize 

Can  e'er  again  speak  lightly  of  the  Wise: 

And  he,  if  not  against  us,  to  deride  1675 

The  holy  truths,  is  surely  on  our  side. 

Whoso  to  mortals  thus  shall  manifest  Matt.  x.  32,  42 

The  Saving  Power,  and  to  its  truth  attest. 

Him  shall  that  Power  among  Immortals  place; 

And  he  who  manifests  a  lesser  grace,  1680 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  199 

Teaching  as  best  he  may  those  who,  forsooth, 

Are  babes  in  wisdom  but  desire  the  truth. 

Shall  have  his  due  reward :  and  he,  indeed. 

Is  like  a  man  of  strength  who  climbed  with  speed 

The  mountain  of  the  Gods,  and  going  up  1685 

To  Wisdom's  fountain  filled  a  brimming  cup. 

And  gave  it,  when  returned  from  heights  sublime, 

To  one,  a  thirsty  child,  who  could  not  climb. 

And  he  who  calls  those  hungry  souls  to  dine.  Matt,  xvlii.  5,  6 

Sharing  with  them  the  mystic  bread  and  wine,  1690 

Shall  find  his  store  not  lessened  but  increased, 

The  Self  Divine  presiding  at  the  feast. 

But  wdioso,  over  wise,  presumes  to  mock 

The  sacred  lore,  and  sets  a  stumbling-block 

Before  these  infants  who,  while  weak  of  limb,  1695 

Are  toddling  after  truth,  't  were  well  for  him 

If  round  his  neck  a  millstone  vast  were  hung, 

And  into  deepmost  ocean  he  were  flung." 

The  pious  formalists,  who  hoped  to  draw  Mk.  x.  2-9 

From  Jesus  some  denial  of  the  law,  1700 

Asked :  "Do  the  ethics  of  the  higher  life 

Permit  a  husband  to  divorce  his  wife?" 

He  answered  them  :  "What  says  the  law  ?"    Said  they : 

"The  law  provides  that  wife  or  husband  may. 

On  certain  grounds  enacted,  have  recourse  ^7^5 

To  magistrates  empowered  to  grant  divorce." 

Said  he :  "The  law  aims  only  to  adjust 

Conditions  caused  by  selfishness  and  lust. 

Such  moral  problems  must  your  minds  perplex 

As  long  as  men  are  slaves  to  sin  and  sex.  1710 

And  yet,  indeed,  it  was  not  always  thus : 

At  first  mankind  were  all  androgynous ; 

But  now,  save  when  it  stimulates  the  brain. 

The  fire  of  life  must  work  through  sexes  twain. 

Though  two,  the  bodies  of  the  man  and  wife  171 5 

Become  one  body  to  engender  life, 


200  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Producing  feeble  forms  that  soon  decay 

And  turn  to  dust  'neath  Death's  unpitying  sway." 

When  he  had  spoken,  his  disciples  said:  Matt.  xix.  10-12 

"This  being  so,  't  were  better  not  to  wed."  1720 

He  said  to  them :  "The  generative  sphere  Lk.  xx.  34-36 

Must  have  its  children,  or  't  would  disappear ; 

And  so  its  sons  and  daughters  must  perforce 

Live,  propagate,  and  die,  in  cyclic  course. 

But  they  who  seek  to  win  the  deathless  state  1725 

Forsake  the  ways  of  them  who  generate. 

The  many,  who  for  ages  have  been  kept 

In  bondage  by  desire,  can  not  accept 

This  doctrine,  welcome  only  to  the  few 

Who  would  their  pristine  deathless  state  renew.  1730 

Let  him  accept  it  who  with  thought  profound 

Wearies  of  life  and  death  in  ceaseless  round; 

For  they  who  gain  the  mystic  solar  birth 

Need  nevermore  incarnate  on  the  earth : 

Yea,  death  and  life  in  their  strong  hands  they  hold  1735 

When  bodied  in  the  sun's  aethereal  gold." 

A  learned  man — who  was  indeed  well  versed  Mk.  xii.  28 

In  strange  traditions  that  are  still  rehearsed 

By  those  who  many  studious  years  devote 

To  knowledge  handed  down  from  times  remote —  1740 

Had  listened  to  the  questions  and  replies. 

And  noting  well  how  apposite  and  wise 

The  Teacher's  answers  were,  with  due  respect 

Now  asked  him :  "Sir,  what  law  would  you  select  Matt.  xxii.  36-39 

As  making  most  for  true  morality  1745 

Of  all  the  laws  that  Gods  and  men  decree?" 

Him  Jesus  answered  :  "Priests  unite  to  say 

That  man  should  love  his  God.    Wise,  too,  are  they 

Who  bid  you,  Love  mankind."    The  man  discerned    Mk.  xii.  32-34 

The  covert  thought  on  which  his  meaning  turned,  175^ 

And  said :  "Your  words,  though  wary,  broadly  hint 

That  love  of  God  may  dwell  in  hearts  of  flint. 


thp:  crowning  of  jesus  201 

Unlike  unselfish  love  for  all  mankind, 

Which  is  in  pure  and  noble  hearts  enshrined. 

Who  loves  all  men  will  find  his  soul  is  shod  1755 

With  winged  sandals,  like  the  gracious  God 

Who  with  his  magic  golden  wand  confers 

Wisdom  divine  upon  his  worshippers ; 

But  they  who  cling  to  outer  rites,  and  stain 

Their  souls  with  blood  of  harmless  victims  slain  1760 

Upon  their  cruel  altars,  claim  to  love 

A  cosmic  Phantom  in  the  heavens  above." 

And  Jesus  said  to  this  discerning  man  : 

"Like  every  true  humanitarian, 

Your  feet  are  on  the  path  ;  and  well  I  know  1765 

To  reach  the  Realm  you  have  not  far  to  go." 

Then  said  to  him  a  grim  theologist,  Matt.  xv.  i,  2 

Sneering  at  him,  and  not  ashamed  to  twist 

The  meaning  of  his  words :  "So  then,  my  friend, 

To  all  lustrations  you  would  put  an  end !  1 770 

If  that  be  so,  one  clearly  understands 

Why  your  disciples  eat  with  grimy  hands." 

To  him  the  Master  said :  "Ye  priestly  souls,  Lk.  xi.  39 

So  careful  of  externals,  are  like  bowls 

The  outer  surfaces  of  which  are  clean,  I775 

But  which  within  are  filled  with  filth  obscene. 

Cleanly  in  person,  moral  outwardly, 

You  yet  within  your  souls  are  never  free 

From  lusts  ungratified  but  never  killed ; 

And,  even  worse,  your  callous  hearts  are  filled  1780 

With  bigotry,  and  zeal  to  fleece  your  flocks. 

Your  sheeplike  followers.     Ye  orthodox,  Matt,  xxiii.  27 

Who  can  not  your  own  evil  selves  subdue, 

But  pose  as  guides  to  others,  woe  to  you ! 

For  you,  who  hide  with  care  your  sins  and  faults,  1785 

Are  like  ornately  stuccoed  burial-vaults, 

Which,  though  they  outwardly  are  white  and  fresh, 

Have  naught  within  but  bones  and  putrid  flesh. 


202 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


Yet  you  are  holy  men,  forsooth,  who  think  Matt,  xxiii,  24 

The  mighty  stream  of  Hfe,  whence  all  men  drink,  1790 

Would  be  defiled  did  you  not  scrutinize 

Its  surface,  which  reflects  the  cloud-veiled  skies; 

And  should  a  gnat  fall  in  it,  then,  no  doubt. 

With  great  ado  you  'd  grandly  strain  it  out ; 

But  should  a  camel  in  the  waters  drown  1795 

You  'd  see  it  not,  but  blindly  gulp  it  down. 

But  woe  to  you,  dark  priests  who  have  enslaved        Matt,  xxiii.  13 

The  minds  of  men,  and  with  a  faith  depraved 

Have  fanned  the  fears  and  passions  of  your  dupes 

Till  they  are  either  knaves  or  nincompoops !  1800 

You  stole  and  hid  the  key  to  sacred  lore,  Lk.  xi.  52 

Closing  against  mankind  the  Mystery-door. 

For  you  had  not  the  right  to  enter  in, 

And  were  refused  the  mystic  discipline : 

You  were  among  the  many  who  may  bear  Matt.  xxii.  14 

The  sacred  thyrsos;  but  you  could  not  wear  1806 

The  robes  of  the  Initiate  glorified, 

Because  you  were  impure ;  hence  you  have  tried, 

Since  you  yourselves  sought  entrance  there  in  vain, 

To  keep  the  worthy  ones  from  Wisdom's  fane." 

A  scholar — one  of  those  who  scorn  to  look  Lk.  xi. 

For  knowledge  save  't  is  written  in  a  book. 

And  leave  their  souls  unopened  and  unread — 

Took  umbrage  at  the  Teacher's  words,  and  said : 

"Good  sir,  when  you  would  thus  the  priests  abash, 

On  learned  men  as  well  you  lay  the  lash." 

And  Jesus  said :  "The  learning  which  you  boast     Matt,  xxiii.  29-32 

Shall  count  for  naught  in  regions  nethermost. 

Where  Ploutdn  reigns,  nor  save  from  suffering  dire 

Your  souls  when  they  in  water,  air  and  fire  1820 

Are  purified,  and  then  are  made  to  drink 

The  memory-dulling  draught  at  Lethe's  brink. 

For  you  with  learnedness  are  so  puffed  up 

That  you  refuse  to  drink  from  Wisdom's  cup. 


1810 
45.46 


i«i 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  203 

The  sacred  writings  left  by  seers  of  old  1825 

To  you  are  but  as  burial-vaults  that  hold 

Dry  skeletons  which  you  exhume  and  dress 

In  modern  garb  of  fancied  prettiness. 

The  fair  philosophies  the  ancient  wise 

Gave  to  the  world  you  take  and  formalize;  1830 

Their  spirit  e'er  escapes  you,  but  you  find 

Their  bones  may  be  in  many  ways  combined. 

And  grateful  for  the  pleasure  you  thus  gain 

In  toying  with  the  bones  of  martyrs  slain 

By  priests  who  plunged  the  world  in  darkest  night  1835 

And  made  e'en  murder  a  religious  rite, 

You  say,  Tf  we  had  lived  in  that  dark  age 

We  'd  not  have  murdered  every  seer  and  sage, 

As  did  our  fathers — though  we  keep,  of  course. 

The  sweet  religion  founded  thus  on  force.'  1840 

So  you  yourselves  have  testified  that  you 

Are  firm  disciples  of  the  priests  who  slew 

The  sages,  seers,  and  worthy  men  who  scorned 

To  heed  those  priests  or  be  by  them  suborned. 

Go,  then,  ye  bigots,  treacherous  and  grim,  1845 

And  fill  with  blood,  up  to  the  very  brim. 

The  measure  which  your  fathers  partly  filled 

When  they  earth's  noblest  sons  and  daughters  killed. 

Cruel  of  heart  are  ye,  and  cold  of  mind, 

Ye  pious  murderers  of  divine  mankind!"  1850 

Enraged  at  him,  yet  making  no  reply,  Matt.  xii.  14 

The  priests  at  once  resolved  that  he  must  die : 

So  they  withdrew,  and  by  themselves  apart 

Took  counsel  how  by  their  nefarious  art 

They  might  effect  the  death  of  this  new  Seer  1855 

Whose  words  had  roused  their  hatred  and  their  fear. 


204  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

III 

Summer  had  ended,  and  the  shortening  days  Lk.  ix.  51-56 

Proclaimed  that  soon  the  sun,  with  lessened  rays, 

Reaching  the  point  where  most  his  light  declines, 

Would  journey  through  the  six  ascending  signs:  i860 

And  Jesus,  going  forward,  to  the  end 

That  to  the  Father's  Realm  he  should  ascend, 

Now  towards  the  sacred  city  turned  his  face, 

Irradiant  with  inherent  power  and  grace. 

His  messengers,  the  seventy-two  who  went  1865 

In  loving  couples,  in  advance  he  sent 

To  make  due  preparations  for  his  stay 

At  every  village  situate  on  the  way. 

At  one,  a  midway  village,  when  they  came, 

The  dwellers  honored  not  the  Master's  name,  1870 

Nor  would  receive  him,  but  like  snarling  curs 

Demeaned  themselves.    These  churlish  villagers 

Denied  that  he  was  King,  and  ridiculed 

His  going  to  the  city  priesthood-ruled. 

And  seeing  this,  the  tw^o  most  fiery  ones  1875 

Of  his  disciples,  James  and  John,  the  Sons 

Of  Thunder,  asked  him :  "Is  it  thy  desire 

That  w^e  should  hurl  at  them  celestial  fire, 

And  so  consume  those  wretches  who  contemn 

Thy  royal  claims  ?"    But  Jesus  chided  them  1880 

For  their  too  fiery  zeal,  and  mildly  chose 

Another  village,  where  they  cook  repose. 

As  he,  the  unanointed,  crownless  king.  Matt.  xx.  17-19 

With  his  disciples  all,  was  journeying 

Unto  the  sacred  city  which  by  right  1885 

To  him  belonged,  and  to  the  Powers  of  Light, 

But  which  had  suffered  long  an  evil  doom, 

Ruled  by  the  priests  and  powers  of  midnight  gloom, 

His  twelve  companions  close  around  him  drew, 

Creating  thus  among  his  retinue  1890 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  205 

An  inner  circle ;  unto  them  he  said : 

"Behold,  the  weary  way  which  now  we  tread 

Leads  to  the  sacred  city.    There  shall  I, 

Seized  by  the  cruel  priests,  be  doomed  to  die : 

Ale  of  my  royal  honors  they  shall  rob,  1895 

And  hand  me  over  to  the  mindless  mob 

To  mock  and  buffet.    Scornfully  denied 

My  earthly  realm,  I  shall  be  crucified  ; 

But  when  the  sun  arising  shall  illume 

On  the  third  day  my  dismal  rock-hewn  tomb,  1900 

I  shall  arise,  by  death  no  longer  bound, 

A  King  of  Life,  anointed,  robed  and  crowned." 

Having  foretold  his  death  by  violence,  Mk.  viii.  32,  33 

He  then  explained  to  them  the  inner  sense. 

Revealing  how  this  death  upon  the  cross  1905 

Was  birth  to  life  eternal,  not  the  loss 

Of  earthly  life.    But  Simon's  reasoning  mind 

Nor  grasped  his  words  nor  could  their  meaning  find ; 

And  he  reproved  the  Master  in  dismay 

For  speaking  words  ill-omened  on  the  way.  19 10 

But  Jesus,  turning,  singled  Simon  out 

From  the  disciples  circled  round  about 

For  stern  rebuke,  thus  saying  unto  him : 

"Get  you  behind  me ;  for  your  light  is  dim. 

You  centre  not  your  mind  on  things  divine,  191 5 

But  ever  unto  worldly  thoughts  incline." 

And  on  the  seventh  day  again  they  came  Matt.  xvii.  1-5 

To  that  great  Mount  where  he  had  called  by  name 

His  twelve  companions  and  abroad  had  sent 

The  seventy-two  as  wedded  couples  blent:  1920 

And  breaking  journey  there,  he  called  upon 

But  three  disciples,  Judas,  James  and  John, 

To  go  with  him  and  climb  its  lofty  height. 

Putting  to  test  their  manliness  and  might. 

And  when  upon  its  highest  peak  he  trod  1925 

In  splendent  semblance  he  became  a  God : 


206  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

His  face  was  radiant  as  the  golden  sun 

Arising  in  the  East  its  course  to  run; 

And  o'er  his  raiment,  whiter  than  the  moon, 

Bright  scintillating  lights  were  thickly  strewn  193^ 

Like  glittering  stars.    And  lo,  beside  him  stood 

Two  others  of  the  glorious  brotherhood, 

The  Guardian  of  Justice,  and  the  Seer, 

Descended  from  their  own  supernal  sphere 

To  greet  the  Teacher  destined  soon  to  gain  ^935 

The  Starry  Realm  and  with  themselves  to  reign. 

Said  Judas  unto  him :  "If  't  is  thy  will, 

Let  us  build  here  a  splendid  domicile, 

A  habitation  reared  with  massive  walls. 

Pierced  by  twelve  doors,  and  having  three  great  halls,  1940 

One  each  for  thee,  the  Seer,  and  Him  who  gives 

Justice  exact  to  every  one  who  lives." 

Ere  he  had  ceased  to  speak,  behold,  there  streamed 

Above  their  heads  a  fleecy  cloud  that  gleamed 

With  golden  fire,  whence  vivid  lightnings  flamed ;  1945 

And  from  its  luminous  depths  a  Voice  proclaimed : 

"These  three.  Seer,  Teacher,  Giver  of  the  Law, 

Are  one,  the  Self  Triune.     Regard  with  awe 

This  Teacher,  who  is  my  beloved  Son, 

And  hear  his  words  of  wisdom.    He  has  won  1950 

The  right  to  lay  his  earthly  burden  down 

And  in  the  Realm  supernal  wear  his  crown." 

But  when  the  heavenly  Voice  had  ceased  to  speak,  Lk.  ix.  36 

Alone  stood  Jesus  on  the  mountain  peak. 

When  Jesus,  with  his  band  of  devotees,  Mk.  xi.  1-9 

Had  reached  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  1956 

Near  to  the  sacred  city,  he  sent  on 

Before  him  two  disciples,  James  and  John, 

Saying  to  them  :  "To  yonder  village  go 

Which  lies  before  you,  situate  below  i960 

The  mount  of  olive-trees;  and  when  you  pass 

Lito  the  village,  you  will  find  an  ass 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  207 

Tied  at  the  place  where  backward  turns  the  road- 

An  ass  which  mortal  never  has  bestrode. 

And  when  you  have  untied  it,  bring  it  here.  1965 

Should  any  in  the  village  interfere 

And  say  to  you,  'Why  are  you  doing  this  ?' 

Make  this  reply,  *  'T  is  surely  not  amiss 

That  we  should  take  the  ass,  if  in  due  time 

We  bring  it  back;  for  now  the  King  sublime  1970 

Has  need  of  it,  and  truly  it  is  blest 

In  being  by  the  Solar  King  impressed.'  " 

They  went,  and  where  the  road  turns  sharply  back — 

As  when  the  sun  upon  its  northern  track 

Pauses  awhile,  and  then  is  southward  bound —  1975 

The  two  disciples  by  the  wayside  found 

An  ass,  a  young  one,  tethered  near  the  gate. 

Within  the  village ;  and  they  did  not  wait 

To  find  its  owner,  but  at  once  untied 

The  solar  steed  their  Master  meant  to  ride.  1980 

And  standing  there  were  certain  villagers, 

Who  said :  "By  whose  authority,  good  sirs, 

Do  you  untie  the  ass?"    They  made  reply 

As  Jesus  had  directed  them,  thereby 

Showing  they  acted  rightly.    No  one  said  1985 

A  word  of  protest ;  and  the  ass  they  led 

To  Jesus,  placing  on  it  as  a  pad 

The  woollen  cloaks  in  which  they  had  been  clad. 

And  he  bestrode  it.    Many  followers  spread 

Their  cloaks  upon  the  way,  and  some,  instead,  1990 

Strewed  rushes  which  they  plucked  beside  the  road; 

And  all  the  people  as  they  onward  strode. 

Or  pressing  on  behind  him  or  before. 

Their  voices  raised,  and  chanted  o'er  and  o'er 

A  joyous  paean,  omen  of  success.  1995 

Calling  upon  the  mighty  Gods  to  bless 

Their  King  now  riding  forth  to  overwhelm 

The  powers  of  darkness  and  regain  his  Realm. 


2o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

But  ere  he  readied  the  sacred  city's  gate,  Lk.  xiii.  31-34 

The  priests,  intending  to  intimidate  2000 

The  Master,  sent  out  messengers  of  dread, 

Who  met  him  on  the  way  and  grimly  said : 

"Thou,  foohsh  as  the  ass  thou  ridest  upon, 

Give  up  thy  claim  to  kingship,  and  begone ; 

Else  will  the  tetrarch,  as  he  sternly  saith,  2005 

Upraised  upon  the  cross  put  thee  to  death." 

But  he,  intrepid,  answered :  "Go  ye  back. 

And  tell  that  wolf  and  all  the  howling  pack 

Of  priests  predacious  that  this  very  day. 

And  two  days  more,  I  shall  my  power  display  20io 

Against  them  all :  for  I  shall  drive  them  out 

As  they  were  evil  spirits  such  as  flout 

The  Powers  of  Light,  and  I  shall  soothe  the  pangs 

Of  victims  wounded  by  their  wolfish  fangs. 

And  I  shall  be,  ere  past  are  seven  days,  2015 

A  King-Initiate,  crowned  wdth  solar  rays." 

And  gazing  at  the  city,  now  debased,  Lk.  xix.  41 

Though  once  with  every  noble  virtue  graced, 

The  great  compassion  in  his  bosom  pent 

Burst  forth  in  words  of  unrestrained  lament :  Matt,  xxiii.  37 

"O  stately  city,  thou  wast  once  the  heart  202 1 

Where  brooded  Love  Divine ;  but  now  thou  art 

Viler  than  any  wanton  known  on  earth. 

Thou  murderess  of  the  Seers  and  men  of  worth! 

How  oft  I  've  yearned  thy  sin-stains  to  efface  2025 

And  fold  thy  children  in  my  fond  embrace, 

E'en  as  a  hen  with  fine  solicitude 

Shelters  beneath  her  wings  her  downy  brood. 

But  thou  hast  given  thy  little  ones  as  prey 

To  w^olfish  priests  who  w^alk  the  crimson  way."  2030 

When  he  and  his  disciples  came  at  last  Mk.  xi.  15-18 

Unto  the  city's  gate  and  through  it  passed, 

He  entered  in  the  temple,  now  a  mart 

Where  sordid  priests  profanely  played  the  part 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  209 

Of  petty  dealers  in  religious  wares —  2035 

Their  spurious  doctrines,  ineffectual  prayers, 

And  rites  that  serve  no  purpose  save  to  fill 

With  awe  their  followers,  and  with  gold  their  till. 

There,  too,  were  others,  wretches  even  worse, 

The  priests  who  scrupled  not  to  fill  their  purse  2040 

With  money  which  the  temple- women  earned — 

The  poor  soiled  doves  who  had  from  virtue  turned 

To  worship  shamelessly  their  Goddess-queen, 

The  "Mighty  Mother,"  with  her  rites  obscene. 

The  Master  sternly  from  the  temple  drove  2045 

The  priests  who  thus  on  superstition  throve, 

And  said  to  them :  "This  place  should  be  the  fane 

Where  Love  Divine  should  absolutely  reign, 

Driving  all  evil  from  the  hearts  of  men; 

But  ye  have  changed  it  to  a  filthy  den  2050 

Where  ye  and  your  dark  doves  of  death  hold  sway — 

Ye  prowling  wolves,  who  make  mankind  your  prey !" 

And  when  he  had  expelled  those  men  of  sin. 

He  made  the  fane  his  own,  and  taught  therein ; 

While  those  foul  priests  whom  he  had  driven  out  2055 

Plotted  among  themselves  to  bring  about 

His  death,  that  they  might  then  regain  their  place 

And  lord  it  o'er  the  fickle  populace. 

The  Master,  now  the  fane  was  purified. 

Taught  while  't  was  day,  then  rode  at  eventide,        Matt.  xxi.  17-21 

With  his  disciples  following  behind. 

Unto  the  village  where  he  had  divined 

That  they  would  find  the  ass,  and  took  his  rest 

With  them  who  bade  him  welcome  as  their  guest. 

At  dawn,  when  still  the  sky  was  cold  and  gray,  2065 

As  towards  the  city's  gate  he  took  his  way. 

He  hungered.    Dimly  through  the  mist  was  seen 

Beside  the  way  a  fig-tree  leafed  and  green 

And  Jesus  came  to  it  and  looked  it  o'er 

To  see  if  haply  any  fruit  it  bore;  2070 


210  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

But  though  the  tree  seemed  flourishing  and  sound, 

Upon  its  spreading  hmbs  the  Master  found 

Nothing  but  leaves.    Then  said  he  to  the  tree : 

"No  more  on  earth  shall  fruit  be  borne  by  thee." 

And  his  disciples  saw,  with  deep  amaze,  2075 

The  fig-tree  withering  before  their  gaze, 

Till  but  a  lifeless  trunk,  with  branches  dry 

And  leafless,  showed  against  the  misty  sky. 

Said  his  disciples  wonderingly  to  him  : 

"How  is  it  that  the  tree,  in  trunk  and  limb,  2080 

Withered  away  and  lost  its  leafy  cloak, 

Becoming  dead  the  instant  that  you  spoke?" 

He  answered  them:  "Indeed,  if  you  have  faith — 

Not  mere  opinion,  which  is  but  the  wraith 

Of  true  belief— you  shall  not  only  do  2085 

This  feat  of  magic  I  have  shown  to  you 

By  shrivelling  up  the  tree,  both  branch  and  root, 

That  robbed  the  earth  of  force  but  gave  no  fruit, 

But  even  should  you— if  the  Self  agrees— 

Say  to  yon  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  2090 

'Be  thou  uptorn  from  where  thou  now  art  fast, 

And  into  Other's  shining  sea  be  cast,' 

Your  magic  power,  unfettered  and  complete. 

Would  easily  perform  that  mighty  feat. 

But  first  believe,  ere  you  begin  the  task,  Mk.  xi.  24,  25 

That  all  the  things  for  which  you  pray  and  ask  2096 

Are  yours  already,  somewhere  stored  away 

In  your  eternal  treasury  till  the  day 

Your  soul  may  need  them  and  may  seek  to  find 

Those  treasures  hoarded  in  the  deathless  mind.  ^2100 

And  when  on  sacred  things  you  meditate, 

The  Presence  to  invoke,  no  tinge  of  hate 

For  any  being  should  incarnadine 

The  seven  aethers  offered  on  the  shrine 

Within  the  heart :  forgive  ye  freely,  then,  2105 

All  wrongs  you  've  suffered  at  the  hands  of  men. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  211 

That  He  whose  perfect  justice  never  fails 

May  your  forgivingness  weigh  on  the  scales 

Against  your  own  misdeeds.    And  when  you  pray,    Matt.  vi.  9-1 1 

Unto  the  Self  your  yearning  thus  convey :  21 10 

Our  Father  in  the  starry  heavens  enthroned. 

In  sacred  ritual  be  thy  name  intoned ; 

Thy  realm  established  be  among  the  blest, 

Thy  will  on  earth,  as  in  the  heavens,  expressed. 

Supernal  wisdom  grant  us  now  to  know,  2 1 1 5 

Nor  stay  its  coming  through  the  ages  slow : 

To-morrow's  bread  of  life  to-day  on  us  bestow." 

Continuing  on  their  way  as  they  conversed,  Mk.  xi.  27-33 

They  reached  the  city.    Jesus,  as  at  first. 

Entered  the  temple,  there  to  spend  the  day  2120 

Teaching  and  pointing  out  the  perfect  way. 

Came  then  the  priests,  enraged  and  envious, 

His  right  and  power  to  challenge,  saying  thus : 

"Hast  thou  usurped  our  temple  but  to  rant, 

Claiming  thou  art  a  grand  hierophant  2125 

On  whom  authority  has  been  conferred 

To  teach  the  mysteries  to  the  common  herd  ? 

From  whom,  or  through  what  source,  didst  thou  obtain 

Authority  to  teach  in  our  great  fane, 

Whence  thou  didst  cast  us  out?"    But  he  replied:  2130 

"First  ye  yourselves  this  question  must  decide 

Which  now  I  ask  you.  Was  the  lustral  rite 

The  Lesser  Teacher  gives  each  neophyte 

Established  by  the  Gods,  or  but  by  men  ? 

Answer  me  this,  and  I  shall  tell  you  then  2135 

By  what  authority  I  seized  by  force 

This  temple,  which  is  mine,  and  here  discourse." 

At  this  reply  the  priests  were  sorely  vexed ; 

In  whispers  they  discussed  it,  much  perplexed, 

Saying:  "This  man  with  whom  we  are  at  odds,  2140 

If  we  should  say,  The  rite  is  from  the  Gods,' 


212  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Would  answer,  'Why,  then,  did  you  not  receive 

The  lustral  rite,  if  you  indeed  beheve 

'T  was  from  the  Gods?'    And  yet  if  we  should  say, 

'The  rite  was  framed  by  men'  " — They  paused  to  weigh  2145 

The  consequences ;  for  they  greatly  feared 

To  irritate  the  people,  who  revered 

The  Lesser  Teacher,  knowing  him  to  be 

A  holy  Seer.    Therefore  they  sullenly 

Confessed  defeat,  and  said:  "We  do  not  know."  2150 

Said  Jesus :  "Then  to  you  I  will  not  show 

My  ample  power,  authority  and  right 

To  share  this  temple  with  the  Powers  of  Light: 

Ye,  of  the  Lesser  Teacher  ignorant. 

Acknowledge  not  the  Great  Hierophant."  2155 

The  Master,  now  endeavoring  to  reach  Mk.  xii.  i 

Their  conscience,  used  his  allegoric  speech : 

"I  '11  state  a  case,  and  your  opinion  ask.  Matt.  xxi.  28-34 

A  man  who  had  two  sons  set  each  a  task : 

Unto  the  first  he  came,  and  said,  with  mild  2160 

And  gracious  manner,  'Go  to-day,  my  child. 

And  in  my  vineyard  work.'     But  he  declined. 

Saying,  'I  will  not.'    Then  he  changed  his  mind. 

And  went  soon  after.     Next  the  father  came 

Unto  the  second  son,  and  said  the  same.  2165 

He  answered,  'Sire,  I  '11  go,'  but  never  went. 

Now,  which  of  these  two  sons,  in  this  event. 

Did  as  his  father  willed  he  should  that  day?" 

"Easily  answered ;  't  was  the  first,"  said  they. 

Said  Jesus  unto  them:  "Then  do  not  frown  2170 

When  I  assert  that  women  of  the  town 

And  men  debased  by  wickedness  and  wine 

Shall  reach,  before  yourselves,  the  Realm  divine. 

For  e'en  the  men  whom  you  regard  as  brutes. 

And  those  unfortunates,  the  prostitutes,  2175 

Received  the  Lesser  Teacher  as  their  guide 

And  by  his  holy  rite  were  purified  : 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  213 

They,  though  benighted,  struggled  towards  the  Hght; 

But  you,  rejecting  him,  disdained  his  rite. 

And  even  when  you  saw  how  he  inspired  2180 

To  purity  the  men  by  sin  bemired. 

You,  whom  self -righteousness  defiles  and  blinds. 

Nor  opened  up  your  hearts  nor  changed  your  minds. 

Another  allegory  hear  ye  now : 

A  man  who  owned  a  field  went  forth  to  plow ;  2185 

And  having  turned  the  soil  and  worked  it  fine, 

He  planted  it  with  cuttings  of  the  vine. 

And  when  his  vineyard  yielded  year  by  year 

The  purple  grapes  whose  juice  promotes  good  cheer. 

He  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went  2190 

Unto  a  distant  country.     But  he  sent  Lk.  xx.  10-16 

A  servant,  when  the  time  of  vintage  came, 

A  stated  portion  of  the  fruits  to  claim. 

The  husbandmen,  however,  thought  to  cheat 

The  owner  of  his  profits,  and  they  beat  2195 

With  staves  the  servant,  driving  him  away 

Without  the  fruits  they  had  engaged  to  pay. 

The  owner  sent  another  servant  then ; 

But  knavishly  those  brutal  husbandmen 

Withheld  the  fruits,  and  cudgelled  like  the  first  2200 

The  second  servant,  whom  they  foully  cursed, 

And  drove  away.     The  owner,  undeterred, 

Another  servant  sent  to  them,  the  third ; 

But  he,  as  well,  was  beaten  by  those  knaves, 

And  driven  away,  sore  wounded  by  their  staves.  2205 

The  vineyard-owner  said :  'What  shall  be  done? 

I  '11  send  to  them  my  well-beloved  son. 

Whom  surely  they  will  treat  with  due  respect.' 

But  in  their  evil  course  they  were  not  checked : 

Seeing  the  son,  who  came  to  take  the  share  2210 

His  father  claimed,  they  said :  'This  is  the  heir; 

Now  let  us  kill  him,  for  he  comes  alone, 

And  so  we  '11  make  the  heritage  our  own.' 


214  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  then  the  heartless  scoundrels  seized  and  slew 

The  vineyard-owner's  only  son,  and  threw  2215 

The  corpse  without.     What,  therefore,  shall  the  sire 

Do  to  those  murderers  in  his  righteous  ire? 

From  far  he  will  return,  and  them  will  crush 

As  they  were  trodden  grapes  whose  juices  gush 

Within  the  wine-vat  of  the  God  of  Seers;  2220 

Yea,  he  will  scatter  them,  when  he  appears, 

Like  chaff  which  far  afield  the  breezes  fiing 

When  with  his  fan  the  God  is  winnowing." 

The  priests  perceived  that  they  themselves  were  meant,       Matt.  xxi. 

Although  they  did  not  grasp  the  full  intent  45,  46 

Of  these  two  parables.    They  would  have  slain  2226 

The  Master  even  in  the  holy  fane 

But  that,  for  all  their  rage,  they  held  in  fear 

The  plain  but  muscular  people  standing  near. 

Then  forth  stood  one  among  his  audience  Lk.  xvii.  20,  21 

And  asked:  "When  comes  the  Realm  Divine,  and  whence?"     2231 

Said  Jesus :  "Mortal  ne'er  that  Realm  can  find 

Through  outer  senses  or  the  reasoning  mind. 

The  Gods  wdio  sacred  mysteries  declare 

Say  never,  *Lo,  't  is  here!'  or  'Lo,  't  is  there!'  2235 

If  thou  wouldst  seek  the  Realm,  with  heart  devout, 

Then  seek  within  thyself,  and  not  without. 

Enter  the  secret  strong-room  of  thy  soul,  Matt.  vi.  6 

And  having  closed  the  doors  of  sense,  control 

And  hush  the  brain-born  thoughts  that  make  a  din  2240 

The  sacred  precincts  of  thy  mind  within; 

Then  in  the  Silence  seek  the  Lord  of  Thought, 

Whose  mighty  works  are  in  that  Silence  wrought. 

And  he,  the  solar-rayed  and  sceptred  Guide, 

Will  lead  thee  to  the  Kingdom  glorified.  2245 

Ye  who  are  wise  in  nature's  ways  profess  Lk.  xii.  54-56 

To  read  her  signs,  and  oft  you  shrewdly  guess: 

Thus,  seeing  in  the  west  a  storm-cloud  lower, 

You  say  at  once,  'There  comes  a  cooling  shower' ; 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  215 

And  when  you  note  the  wind  is  from  the  south,  2250 

You  say,  'The  land  will  suffer  from  a  drouth.' 

In  either  case  fulfilment  justifies 

Your  forecast,  proving  you  are  weather-wise. 

The  signs  of  earth  and  sky  you  rightly  read ; 

But  wherefore  do  you  neither  note  nor  heed  2255 

The  signs  within,  which  by  their  starry  shine 

Foreshow  the  coming  of  the  Realm  Divine?" 

That  second  day,  when  now  the  hour  was  late,  Mk.  xiii.  i,  2 

He  left  the  temple.    Pausing  at  the  gate, 

Judas  said :  "Teacher,  see  how  grand  appear  2260 

These  buildings  of  the  temple :  tier  on  tier 

Of  massive  stones  are  skilfully  combined 

As  modelled  in  the  master-mason's  mind." 

To  him  said  Jesus :  "Dost  thou  gaze  awhile 

Admiringly  at  yon  majestic  pile?  2265 

Thou  art  thyself  the  power  I  shall  employ 

When  I,  to  gain  my  Kingdom,  shall  destroy 

A  nobler  temple,  leaving  not  one  stone 

Upon  another.     When  't  is  overthrown,  Mk.  xiv.  58 

I  shall  with  toil  titanic,  in  three  days,  2270 

Another  and  more  splendid  temple  raise, 

A  temple  that  eternally  shall  stand. 

Built  by  myself,  but  by  the  Father  planned." 

Again  they  went  to  make  their  nightly  stay  Mk.  xiii.  3,  4 

W^ith  those  good  folks  whose  friendly  village  lay  2275 

Beneath  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees; 

And  sitting  there,  secluded  and  at  ease. 

They  gazed  upon  the  city ;  and  behold. 

The  temple  flamed  afar  with  living  gold — 

Gilt  by  the  rays  the  setting  sun  now  shed.  2280 

To  Jesus  then  the  five,  his  brothers,  said :  Matt.  xxiv.  3 

"Now  tell  us,  at  what  time  shall  be  fulfilled 

These  wondrous  sayings?    Shall  a  glory  gild 

Thy  person,  even  as  with  golden  light 

The  temple  now  is  bathed,  till  in  our  sight  2285 


2i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

It  seems  a  mighty  topaz,  lifting  high 

Its  gleaming  walls  against  the  sunset  sky  ? 

Or  what  shall  be  the  sign,  to  mortals  shown, 

That  in  the  Kingdom  thou  hast  ta'en  thy  throne, 

And  that  by  magic  thou  hast  built  amain—  2290 

To  crown  our  age-long  toil — that  stately  fane?" 

And  Jesus,  answering,  said :  "Take  heed  ahvay  Lk.  xxi.  8 

That  ye  be  not  deceived  or  led  astray : 

For  many  charlatans,  of  evil  soul — 

They  of  the  turbid  crimson  aureole,  2295 

Who  desecrate  my  name  for  power  and  pelf — 

Shall  come  to  you  and  say,  *Lo,  I  myself 

The  King-Initiate  am' ;  and,  'Now  the  dawn 

Is  whitening  in  thy  soul.'    They  are  the  spawn 

Of  sorcery  and  vice.    With  deep  disgust  2300 

Shun  ye  those  sons  of  sorcery  and  lust. 

Be  not  cajoled  by  any,  or  allured,  Mk.  xiii.  21,  22 

When  they  shall  say  to  you,  'Be  ye  assured 

That  here  the  King-Initiate  is,'  or,  'there.' 

Of  such  false  seers  and  sorcerers  beware :  2305 

Many  are  they,  the  Gorgon's  counterparts, 

And  they  shall  try,  with  their  goetic  arts, 

And  using  many  a  lure  and  stratagem. 

To  lead  upon  the  way  of  death  all  them 

Who  seek  the  hidden  knowledge  though  they  lack  2310 

Sense  to  discern  between  the  white  and  black. 

To  you  these  perils  I  have  now  foretold.  Alatt.  xxiv.  25-27 

If,  therefore,  any  say  to  you,  'Behold, 

He  whom  ye  seek,  the  glorious  Lord  of  Thought, 

In  some  far-distant  desert  should  be  sought,'  2315 

Go  ye  not  forth  to  search  the  wilds  for  him. 

Or  if  they  say,  'Behold,  in  cloisters  dim 

If  thou  shouldst  meditate,  year  after  year. 

The  Lord  of  Thought  shall  unto  thee  appear,' 

Believe  them  not,  nor  quit  the  world  of  men  2320 

To  mope  apart  in  some  religious  den. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  217 

For  as  at  birth  of  dawn  there  dimly  shows 

A  gHmmer  in  the  east  that  spreads  and  grows 

Till  to  the  west  glad  streams  of  radiance  run, 

And  rises  then  resplendently  the  sun,  ^3^5 

So  shall  the  Self,  the  Heavenly  King,  make  known 

His  coming  when  he  nears  his  waiting  throne. 

Now,  from  the  fig-tree  learn,  for  it  unfolds  Mk.  xiii.  28,  29 

The  inner  sense  the  allegory  holds  : 

When  on  its  branches,  soft  and  tipped  with  green,  2330 

Expanding  leaves  and  swelling  fruits  are  seen. 

You  know  that  soon  the  summer  shall  begin : 

So,  too,  the  tree  of  life,  yourself  within, 

Shall  wisdom's  fruits  and  healing  leaves  unroll 

When  comes  the  sacred  summer  of  the  soul.  2335 

The  inner  Self,  for  his  divine  delay,  Mk.  xiii.  34-36 

Is  likened  to  a  man  who  took  his  way 

Unto  a  distant  country  to  sojourn. 

And  left  his  home,  until  he  should  return, 

In  care  of  servants,  each  of  whom  he  told  2340 

His  duties  (for  their  works  were  manifold). 

Charging  the  keepers  that  at  every  gate 

Close  watch  be  kept,  to  guard  the  whole  estate. 

Watch,  therefore ;  for  you  know  not  at  what  time, 

Or  to  which  gate,  may  come  the  Lord  sublime,  2345 

Whether  at  sunset,  midnight,  dawn  or  noon ; 

Lest  coming  when  you  deem  it  o\'ersoon 

To  look  for  him,  he  find  you  fast  asleep 

Beside  the  gate  that  you  were  set  to  keep. 

When  in  thy  soul  the  Living  Power  is  freed,  Mk.  xiii.  7,  8 

The  powers  debased,  which  it  must  supersede—  2351 

The  dark  desires  and  all  the  lusts  that  cling 

To  earth,  and  on  the  soul  affliction  bring — 

Are  roused  to  final  war :  till  these  are  slain 

Initiation  thou  canst  not  attain.  2355 

The  world  within  thee  shall  be  shaken  then 

As  by  the  savage  strife  of  mighty  men. 


2i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Of  warriors  panoplied,  when  sword  and  shield 

Clash  loudly  on  the  reddening-  battle-field, 

And  chariots  rumble  as  the  horses  pound  2360 

With  flying  hoofs  the  bruised  and  trembling  ground. 

Yea,  it  shall  be  as  if  the  powers  below 

Were  shattering  the  world  to  overthrow 

The  powers  of  heaven,  extinguishing  the  light 

Of  sun  and  moon,  and  hurling  from  the  height  2365 

The  shining  stars.    Be  not  dismayed :  such  woes 

And  war  of  worlds  are  verily  the  throes 

Which  every  soul  endures  when  from  the  earth 

'T  is  freed,  and  through  the  mystic  solar  birth 

Becomes  a  crowned  and  sceptred  God,  arrayed  2370 

In  vesture  which  the  Power  Divine  has  made. 

Know,  therefore,  when  thou  seest  the  city's  wall  Lk.  xxi.  20 

By  legions  thus  beleaguered,  that  its  fall 

Is  now  impending;  for  wherever  lies  Matt.  xxiv.  28 

The  carcass,  there  the  vultures  claim  their  prize.  2375 

But  when  thy  world  seems  ruined  utterly,  Mk.  xiii.  26 

And  darkness  reigns  supremely,  thou  shalt  see 

A  rosy  light  increasingly  illume 

The  cjuarter  in  the  east,  the  solar  womb ; 

And  then  amidst  the  golden  clouds,  behold,  2380 

The  King  of  Stars,  the  higher  Self  of  old. 

Shall  rise  again  in  majesty  and  might. 

To  reign  forever  o'er  the  Powers  of  Light. 

Then  shall  he  bid  his  messengers  disperse  Mk.  xiii.  27 

To  all  four  quarters  of  the  universe  2385 

To  bring  together  all  who  are  his  own 

Among  the  Fourfold  Powers.    Upon  his  throne     Matt.  xxv.  31-46 

He  shall  be  seated,  glorious  as  the  sun ; 

Before  him  shall  be  gathered  every  one 

Of  those  who  were  his  own  in  every  age  2390 

And  nation  writ  on  earth's  historic  page : 

For  many  were  the  mortal  selves  in  whom 

The  God  has  dwelt  as  in  a  living  tomb. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  219 

He  then  shall  sort  the  worthy  from  the  bad, 

As  when  with  curve-tipped  staff  a  shepherd-lad  2395 

Sorts  from  the  shaggy  goats  the  woolly  sheep, 

That  on  his  right  hand  he  may  safely  keep 

The  gentle  flock  of  sheep  with  fleecy  coats. 

And  on  the  left  the  rank,  unruly  goats. 

Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  who  stand,  2400 

Arrayed  in  purest  white,  at  his  right  hand : 

'Come,  ye  the  blessed,  whom  the  Sire  commends, 

Enter  the  Realm :  for  ye  were  aye  my  friends. 

For  I  w^as  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  food ; 

As  one  who  in  a  rainless  solitude  2405 

Has  lost  his  way,  with  feverish  thirst  I  burned, 

And  ye  then  gave  me  drink ;  to  you  I  turned 

For  succor  when  in  rags  compelled  to  roam. 

And  me  ye  clothed,  and  took  me  to  your  home ; 

I  was  a  sufferer,  and  ye  cared  for  me ;  2410 

I  was  imprisoned,  and  ye  set  me  free.' 

And  they  shall  say :  'O  King  most  glorious. 

When  did  we  succor  thee  and  aid  thee  thus? 

We  were  but  mortals,  knowing  grief  and  pain. 

Whilst  thou  art  placed  'mid  deathless  Gods  to  reign.'  2415 

The  King  shall  answer :  'Every  time  that  ye 

Helped  e'en  the  lowliest  sufferer,  't  was  to  me 

That  ye  were  rendering  service.'    But  all  them 

Who  cower  at  the  left  he  shall  condemn. 

Saying  to  them :  'Depart  from  me,  ye  scum  2420 

Of  earthly  life,  its  base  residuum  : 

Your  presence  w^ould  pollute  my  holy  Realm. 

So  get  ye  hence ;  for  endless  night  shall  whelm 

All  such  as  ye.    When  I  of  yore  applied 

To  you  for  succor,  it  was  aye  denied :  2425 

When  thirst  and  hunger  haled  me  toward  the  grave, 

Ye  offered  me  no  food,  nor  even  gave 

A  cup  of  water ;  when  to  you  I  came, 

A  ragged,  homeless  waif,  ye  felt  no  shame 


220  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

At  turning  me  away  to  starve  and  freeze;  2430 

When  I  was  sick,  ye  did  not  try  to  ease 

My  ceaseless  pain ;  when  I,  for  no  offence, 

Was  placed  in  prison,  ye  did  not  take  me  thence.' 

And  they  shall  answer :  'When,  O  mighty  King, 

Did  we  e'er  see  thee  sick  and  suffering,  2435 

Or  destitute,  or  into  prison  thrown, 

And  leave  thee  thus  in  misery  to  moan  ?' 

Then  shall  he  say  to  them :  'Whene'er  in  scorn 

Ye  turned  from  them  who,  wretched  and  forlorn, 

Besought  compassion  or  for  justice  cried,  2440 

And  when  ye  trampled  down  or  thrust  aside 

Your  brothers,  in  your  mad  pursuit  of  pelf. 

Crushing  mankind  with  woes,  't  was  I  myself — 

Whilst  yet  I  dwelt  in  mortal  form  of  clay — 

From  whom  disdainfully  ye  turned  away:  2445 

Yea,  it  was  I  on  whom  those  woes  were  heaped, 

When  ye  your  transient  gains  of  lucre  reaped.' 

They  shall  be  banished  then  to  endless  night ; 

But  all  the  worthy  souls,  arrayed  in  white. 

Shall  in  the  Realm  of  Life  Eternal  stay,  2450 

Where  darkness  ne'er  divides  the  nightless  day." 

IV 

At  dawn  the  Master  took  his  way  once  more  Lk.  xxi.  37,  38 

Unto  the  temple;  there,  as  twice  before, 

He  taught  the  people.    This  third  day  was  one  Mk.  xiv.  12-16 

Which  men  had  consecrated  to  the  Sun :  2455 

They  in  their  ritual  sacrificed  and  ate 

A  ram,  thus  fittingly  to  celebrate 

The  triumph  of  the  Sun  when  he  contends 

Against  the  powers  of  gloom ;  for  winter  ends 

When  he,  the  Lord  of  Light,  is  lifted  high  2460, 

Upon  the  cross  that  intersects  the  sky 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  221 

Where  stands  the  stellar  Ram  with  golden  fleece. 

Of  old  the  Bull  thus  marked  the  earth's  release 

From  winter's  bonds  ;  and  so  a  bull  or  ox 

\Vas  victim  at  the  vernal  equinox.  2465 

To  Jesus,  therefore,  came  the  twelve  and  said : 

"Where  do  you  wish  that  we  should  go  and  spread 

A  feast  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  spring. 

When  ritualists  crucify  the  solar  king?" 

And  Jesus,  having  power  Promethean  2470 

To  see  the  future,  said  to  them :  "A  man 

Bearing  a  water-pitcher  will  await 

Simon  and  Andrew  at  the  western  gate : 

So  follow  him,  ye  two ;  and  when  he  goes 

Into  his  house,  to  him  you  shall  disclose  2475 

Your  errand,  saying,  'He  who  sent  us  here, 

Our  Teacher,  needs  a  room  where  he  this  year 

May  celebrate  with  us  the  vernal  feast.' 

The  Water-bearer,  old  Poseidon's  priest. 

Will  welcome  you  as  friends  he  knew  of  yore,  2480 

And  show  you,  on  his  dwelling's  highest  floor. 

The  third,  a  large,  well-furnished  dining-hall ; 

There  make  ye  preparations  for  us  all." 

The  two  disciples  then  went  forth  to  do 

As  they  were  bidden.    At  the  gate  the  two  2485 

Met  with  the  Water-bearer,  who  complied 

With  their  request;  and  so,  at  eventide,  Mk.  xiv.  17,  22-25 

When  Jesus  and  the  twelve  went  forth,  it  fared 

That  there  awaited  them  a  room  prepared, 

The  room  the  Water-bearer  had  assigned  2490 

To  them ;  and  there  at  table  all  reclined. 

The  Master  took  and  broke  a  loaf  of  bread. 

First  having  duly  hallowed  it,  and  said. 

As  he  apportioned  it  the  twelve  among : 

"This  is  my  flesh :  't  is  not  the  body  sprung  2495 

From  mortal  womb ;  its  filaments  were  spun 

Of  purest  aethers  which  the  golden  sun 


222  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Breathes  forth.     This  ye  the  twelve  shall  now  receive; 

For  ye  my  helpers  are,  and  I  shall  weave 

A  glorious  fabric,  and  myself  array  2500 

In  vesture  that  can  never  know  decay." 

And  taking  then  a  golden  drinking-cup 

With  sparkling  ruddy  wine  he  filled  it  up ; 

And  when  the  due  libation  he  had  made, 

He  held  the  cup  aloft  as  he  conveyed  2505 

Its  import,  saying:  "This  is  blood  divine, 

The  ichor  of  the  Gods,  which  shall  be  mine 

When  I,  immortal,  am  enthroned  with  them, 

And  wear  my  robe  and  jewelled  diadem. 

The  vine's  life-blood  that  to  the  vat  escapes  2510 

In  crimson  streams  from  crushed  and  bleeding  grapes 

I  nevermore  shall  drink  until  't  is  pressed 

From  fruitage  of  the  vine  in  regions  blest, 

Whose  grapes  yield  living  wine  w'hen  they  are  trod 

Within  the  wine-vat  of  the  leaf-crow-ned  God:  2515 

Yea,  I  shall  taste  no  more  the  vinous  force 

Till  I  may  drink  at  its  primordial  source." 

Then,  tasting  of  the  cup,  he  passed  it  on  Mk.  x.  35,  37-40 

To  those  two  Sons  of  Thunder,  James  and  John ; 

But  they,  ere  lifting  to  their  lips  the  cup,  2520 

Appealed  to  Jesus,  boldly  speaking  up. 

And  saying :  "Master,  wilt  thou  give  command 

That  we  be  throned  with  thee  on  either  hand 

When  thou,  victorious  o'er  embattled  Night, 

Dost  reign  among  the  glorious  Powers  of  Light?"  2525 

He  answered :  "Dare  ye  drink  this  cup  of  blood. 

And  plunge  with  me  beneath  the  mighty  flood 

Of  force  titanic  that  shall  rend  the  earth 

When  I,  your  King,  achieve  the  solar  birth  ?" 

And  they,  the  dauntless,  fiery-footed  pair,  2530 

Made  answer :  "Yea,  beloved  King,  we  dare !" 

Then  said  to  them  the  Master:  "Ye  shall  drink 

This  cup  of  mine,  and  ye  with  me  shall  sink 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  223 

Into  the  sea  of  flame  that  shall  outflow 

From  Earth  when  she  the  pangs  shall  undergo  2535 

Of  giving  birth  to  her  immortal  Son — 

Myself,  when  I  the  final  task  have  done. 

But  't  is  not  I  myself  who  shall  assign 

To  you  the  thrones  which  in  the  Realm  divine 

Are  set  on  either  side  of  that  great  throne  2540 

That  I,  when  crowned  as  King,  shall  make  mine  own ; 

It  is  the  Father  who  ordained  that  you 

Shall  on  those  thrones  be  seated.     For  ye  two         Matt.  xvi.  18,  19 

Are  guardians  of  the  gates  of  death  and  birth ; 

And  I  shall  give  the  keys  of  heaven  and  earth  2545 

Into  your  keeping :  any  soul  ye  bind 

In  heaven  shall  then  on  earth  its  body  find. 

And  when  from  earth  a  soul  by  you  is  freed 

Unto  its  heavenly  home  it  shall  proceed." 

The  two  disciples  took  the  cup  and  drank,  2550 

Pluming  themselves  on  holding  higher  rank 

Than  did  the  others,  each  of  whom  received 

The  cup  and  drank  of  it.     The  ten  were  grieved  Mk.  x.  41-44 

That  John  and  James  should  thus  outrank  the  rest 

And  hold  the  highest  thrones  among  the  blest ;  2555 

But  Jesus  said  to  them  :  "Ye  know,  indeed, 

That  they  who  are  supposed  to  rule  and  lead 

The  common  people  treat  them  as  their  slaves. 

Their  rule  ennobles  not,  but  e'er  depraves 

The  masses,  whom  they  wickedly  despoil  2560 

Of  all  the  richest  fruitage  of  their  toil. 

But  ye  five  brothers  and  your  sisters  share 

With  me  all  things  in  common ;  and  we  bear 

Alike  our  burdens.    Ye  are  equals  all, 

And  I,  your  king,  obey  you  when  you  call :  Lk.  xxii.  27-30 

While  ye,  the  twelve,  at  table  now  recline,  2566 

'T  is  I  who  wait  upon  you  as  ye  dine. 

Ruling  is  service :  he  's  the  noblest  king 

Who  makes  himself  the  nation's  underling. 


224  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Toiling  to  serve  the  subjects  of  his  reahii,  -570 

And  helping-  faultless  Fate,  who  holds  the  helm. 

Behold,  around  mine  own  celestial  throne 

Are  set  twelve  others,  like  a  jewelled  zone 

Within  the  Realm  that  evermore  endures, 

And  these,  as  I  have  told  you,  shall  be  yours ;  2575 

For  ye,  my  brothers  five  and  sisters  seven, 

Shall  share  my  reign  in  the  eternal  heaven." 

Again,  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  said:  Mk.  xiv.  18-20 

"This  night  the  demons  of  the  darkness  dread. 

In  human  form  incarnate,  like  wild  beasts  2580 

Prowling  for  prey,  shall  seize  me :  they  are  priests. 

And  Fate  ordains  that  by  a  stratagem 

One  of  yourselves  shall  hand  me  o'er  to  them." 

Heart-sore  with  sorrow,  one  by  one  they  cried, 

Saying,  "Not  I,  I  hope !"    And  he  replied  :  2585 

"  'T  is  he — one  of  the  five — who  now  dips  in 

The  selfsame  bowl  with  me,  and  is  my  twin ; 

And  all  of  you,  the  twelve  on  whom  I  wait,         Mk.  xiv.  27,  29-3 1 

This  night  shall  flee,  and  leave  me  to  my  fate." 

Said  Simon :  "Though  the  others  all  may  flee,  2590 

Andrew,  my  twin,  and  I  shall  cling  to  thee." 

Said  Jesus  unto  him :  "This  night,  ere  twice 

The  cock  shall  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice." 

But  Simon  hotly  said :  "I  'II  ne'er  deny 

Or  leave  thee,  even  if  with  thee  I  die!"  2595 

And  all  the  tw^elve  joined  voices  to  declare 

That  they  the  Master's  fate  would  fully  share. 

Leaving  the  Water-bearer's  house,  where  they 

Had  held  their  feast  in  honor  of  the  day 

On  which  the  Sun,  though  crucified,  would  win  2600 

Glad  victory,  and  the  Springtime  would  begin, 

They  took  their  way,  on  nightly  rest  intent. 

Unto  the  mount  of  olives ;  ere  they  went  Mk.  xiv.  26 

They  sang  a  joyful  paean  to  the  Sun, 

Who  year  by  year  this  victory  had  won.  2605 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  225 

But  at  the  village  now  they  did  not  stop:  Mk.  xiv.  32-35 

This  night  they  climbed  up  to  the  mountain-top, 

Wliere  men  by  whom  the  Sun  A\as  loved  and  praised 

Had  to  the  Lord  of  Life  an  altar  raised 

Within  a  field  enclosed — a  sacred  park  2610 

Of  which  the  Pole-star  is  the  hierarch, 

For  he,  a  distant  Sun,  shines  from  the  place 

Round  which  revolve  the  endless  worlds  in  space. 

Said  Jesus  to  the  ten :  ''Sit  here  and  wait. 

Whilst  I  before  the  altar  meditate."  2615 

The  two,  the  Sons  of  Thunder,  James  and  John, 

He  took  with  him  a  little  further  on ; 

And  he  began,  in  contemplation  tense, 

To  be  abstracted  from  the  world  of  sense. 

He  whispered  to  the  twain :  "Stay  where  ye  are,  2620 

And  watch  with  sleepless  eyes  yon  gleaming  star — 

Initiation's  holy  star,  which  sheds 

Its  consecrating  rays  upon  our  heads — 

While  to  the  altar  I  proceed  alone. 

To  bow  before  the  Pole-star's  lofty  throne;  2625 

For  now  my  soul,  as  at  the  hour  of  death, 

Is  isolated  in  the  cosmic  Breath." 

Then  to  the  altar  he  advanced,  and  there    . 

Alone  he  breathed  the  holy  stellar  Air. 

When  he  returned,  he  found  the  two  asleep,  Alk.  xiv.  37-45 

And  said  to  them:  "Awake!    Could  ye  not  keep  2631 

The  Gateway  of  the  Star  for  one  short  hour? 

Watch,  then,  and  do  not  fail  the  holy  Power : 

My  spirit  to  the  Pole-star  wings  its  way; 

Restrain  it  not,  O  feeble  form  of  clay!"  2635 

Again  he  left  them,  and  returning  found 

That  they  by  slumber's  viewless  chains  were  bound ; 

So  he  awakened  them,  and  bade  them  gaze 

Unsleepingly  upon  the  Star  whose  rays 

Give  guidance  unto  all  who  in  the  night  2640 

Of  mortal  life  would  keep  their  course  aright 


226  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

While  sailing  o'er  that  sea  whose  further  strand 

Borders  the  briq^jit,  imperishable  land. 

Then  he  the  third  hour  of  the  watch  remained 

Before  the  altar,  and  the  Star  attained.  2645 

But  finding  his  disciples  had  not  kept 

Their  eyes  upon  the  Star,  but  both  had  slept, 

He  said:  "Are  ye  two  wielders  of  the  wands 

Yourselves  entangled  now  in  Slumber's  bonds, 

And  taking  rest,  whilst  I,  your  Master,  toil  2650 

To  burst  the  bonds  of  Death  that  round  me  coil? 

Sleep  never  lays  his  opiate  hands  on  mc, 

And  soon  from  Death  himself  I  shall  be  free. 

Mine  hour  has  come.    Arise,  let  us  depart : 

Behold,  the  brother  dearest  to  my  heart  2655 

Has  come  to  hand  me  over  to  my  foes, 

The  priests  who  seek  my  death  ;  for  well  he  knows 

That  when  upon  the  cross  I  have  been  Ijound, 

Among  the  deathless  Gods  I  shall  be  crowned." 

E'en  as  he  spoke,  came  Judas  with  a  band  2660 

Of  low-browed  louts,  who  by  the  priests'  command 

Were  come,  with  swords  and  cudgels  armed,  to  seize 

The  crownless  King;  while  in  the  rear  of  these 

Followed  the  priests  themselves,  who  had  arranged 

Thus  to  be  safe  if  blows  should  be  exchanged.  2665 

Judas  has  given  them  a  strange  device, 

A  token,  saying:  "He  whom  I  kiss  thrice. 

That  is  the  man.     Seize  him,  and  lead  him  hence, 

With  gentle  hands,  avoiding  violence." 

To  Jesus  now  he  came,  and  said  to  him,  2670 

"O  Master,  Alaster!"  and  his  eyes  were  dim 

With  tears  that  were  in  bitter  sorrow  shed ; 

Three  times  he  fondly  kissed  him.    Jesus  said :  Matt.  xxv.  50 

"Weep  not,  my  brother :  thou  hast  done  this  deed 

That  I  from  Death's  dominion  may  be  freed."  2675 

And  then  the  mob  of  mindless  ruffians,  urged 

By  priests  behind,  upon  the  Master  surged. 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  227 

And  seized  him.   Said  he  to  the  priests  and  knaves     Lk.  xxii.  52,  53 

Surrounding  him :  "Come  ye  with  swords  and  staves 

To  capture  me,  as  if  ye  sought  to  take  2680 

One  before  whom  your  craven  spirits  quake — 

Some  stalwart  bandit  whom  your  tetrarch  fears, 

A  Herakles  with  bruised  and  swollen  ears  ? 

When  in  the  temple  for  the  past  three  days 

I  taught  the  way  of  Light,  ye  dared  not  raise  2685 

Your  hands  against  me ;  but  't  is  now  your  hour, 

The  dead  of  night,  when  ye  have  demon-power." 

And  now  the  twelve  deserted  him,  and  night  Mk.  xiv.  50-52 

Its  black  veil  threw  o'er  their  inglorious  flight ; 

Save  Judas  only,  who  had  wildly  flung  2690 

His  arms  about  his  neck,  and  closely  clung 

To  him,  beseeching  him  that  at  his  side 

He  might  remain  and  e'en  be  crucified 

Along  with  him.    A  man  of  mighty  frame, 

An  athlete  trained,  was  Judas ;  and  he  came  2695 

That  night  with  but  a  veil  of  linen  wrapped 

About  his  loins  and  fastened.    So  it  happed 

That  w^hen  the  knaves  tried  rudely  to  unclasp 

His  arms  from  Jesus,  with  a  wrestler's  grasp 

He  seized  them  right  and  left,  and  each  his  length  2700 

Measured  upon  the  ground.     The  manly  strength 

Of  Judas  fused  the  force  of  warriors  ten. 

And  though  the  knaves  themselves  were  lusty  men, 

They  seemed  like  boys  who  in  palaestra  flout 

A  full-grown  man,  who  tosses  them  about  2705 

With  scarce  an  effort.     But  the  sindon  worn 

About  his  loins  was  now  from  Judas  torn 

By  them  who  clutched  it :  leaving  them  the  girth, 

He  strode  away,  as  naked  as  at  birth. 

Jesus  they  led  away  to  one  installed  Mk.  xiv.  53-59 

As  their  chief-priest ;  and  presently  they  called  271 1 

A  council  of  the  priests  and  doddering 

Gray-bearded  men — such  are  supposed  to  bring 


228  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ripe  wisdom  into  councils,  as  if  age, 

In  body  only,  constitutes  a  sage.  2715 

Now,  Simon,  when  he  fled,  ran  in  advance, 

And  reached  before  the  rest  the  chief-priest's  manse; 

And  he  was  sitting  by  a  fire  that  burned 

Within  the  quadrangle:  (juitc  unconcerned 

His  bearing  was,  as  at  the  genial  blaze  2720 

He  warmed  himself,  opining  none  would  gaze 

At  him  thus  mingled  with  the  common  crew 

Of  lookers-on  and  servants  there  in  view. 

The  priest  presiding,  and  the  council  vile. 

Past-masters  all  in  priestly  craft  and  guile,  2725 

Sought  evidence,  that  they  might  justify 

Sentence  of  death  on  Jesus,  yet  comply 

With  laws  that  CA'en  priests  could  not  ignore. 

Rut  evidence  was  lacking:  many  swore 

To  falsehoods  that  were  obvious,  bald  and  bold,  2730 

Yet  so  conflicting  that  the  chief-priest  told 

These  worthless  witnesses  to  stand  aside. 

Then  others,  quite  as  shameless,  testified 

To  partial  truths,  distorted,  saying  thus: 

"We  heard  this  man  say  boastfully  to  us.  2735 

'I  shall  destroy  this  temple  made  with  hands. 

And  in  three  days  shall  build,  where  now  it  stands, 

Another  temple,  lifting  every  stone 

Into  its  place  by  magic  power  alone.'  " 

These  witnesses,  however,  were  so  vain  2740 

Of  their  inventiveness  that  none  would  deign 

To  listen  to  the  others:  so.  indeed. 

No  two  of  them  essentially  agreed. 

The  chief-priest,  rising,  said  to  Jesus  then:  Mk.  xiv.  60,  61 

"Sir,  having  heard  what  these  most  truthful  men  2745 

Have  said  against  you.  can  you  now  refute 

Their  testimony  ?"    Jesus,  standing  mute, 

Made  no  reply  to  him.     The  chief-priest  masked 

His  malice,  and  with  oily  deference  asked : 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  229 

"Thou  art  the  King  Immortal,  art  not  thou,  2750 

Whose  crown  the  Gods  have  placed  upon  thy  brow?" 

And  Jesus  answered  him  :  ''With  thine  own  breath  Matt.  xxvi. 

Thou  sayest  that  I  am  King  of  Life  and  Death."  64-66 

The  chief-priest's  visage  flamed  an  angry  red ; 

His  fingers  plucked  at  his  gray  beard  and  head,  2755 

And  tore  his  tunic  open  at  the  breast. 

Said  he:  "Xow  that  he  has  his  guilt  confessed, 

What  need  of  other  witnesses  have  we? 

He  arrogates  divine  authority, 

And  seeks  to  reign,  as  ye  have  heard  him  tell.  2760 

On  earth,  in  heaven,  and  over  deepmost  hell, 

Making  himself  a  God  of  Gods  sublime. 

What  penalty,  think  ye,  befits  his  crime?" 

As  with  one  voice  the  council  made  reply : 

"A  man  who  thus  blasphemes  deserves  to  die !"  2765 

The  men  who  guarded  Jesus  made  the  court  Lk.  xxii.  63,  64 

A  theatre  for  farce,  in  childish  sport 

Blindfolding  him;  and  then  in  turn  each  lout 

Buffeted  him,  and  said :  "O  Seer,  speak  out, 

And  say  who  struck  you,  telling  us  his  name,  2770 

That  we  your  proven  scership  may  proclaim." 

As  Simon  sat  without,  beside  the  fire, 

A  girl  who  in  the  household  worked  for  hire 

Drew  near  and  gazed  at  him  with  sharp  young  eyes. 

She  said  to  him:  "Your  face  I  recognize;  -775 

You  're  one  of  those  conspirators  who  cling 

To  Jesus  and  assert  that  he  's  their  king." 

But  he  denied,  and  said :  'T  know  him  not, 

And  never  heard  before  of  any  plot 

To  make  him  king."    And  rising  he  withdrew  2780 

Into  the  shadowy  porch.    Then  loudly  crew 

A  cock,  at  hint  of  dawn.    Again  the  maid 

Approached,  and  his  identity  betrayed. 

Saying  to  all  the  men  who  stood  around  : 

''Here  's  one  of  Jesus'  followers  I  found  2785 


230  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Lurking  within  the  yard ;  and  now  he  shnks 

Into  the  darkest  shadows,  where  he  thinks 

He  '11  not  be  noticed."    Simon,  as  before,  Matt,  xxvi.  72-74 

Denied  it,  and  to  satisfy  her  sw'ore 

A  solemn  oath,  presuming  to  invoke  2790 

The  blessed  Gods  to  witness  that  he  spoke 

The  simple  truth.     A  little  after  this 

Those  present  said  to  him  with  emphasis : 

"Fellow,  you  're  surely  one  of  them.    We  know 

Because  your  high-flown  speech  alone  would  show  2795 

That  you  're  not  one  of  us."    And  he  began 

To  curse  and  swear :  "In  very  truth  that  man 

To  me  's  an  utter  stranger."    Then  the  cock, 

Flapping  its  pinions,  crew,  as  if  to  mock 

The  recreant  disciple.     Simon  heard,  Mk.  xiv.  y2 

And  to  his  mind  returned  the  pregnant  word  2801 

Spoken  by  Jesus  at  the  feast,  "Ere  twice 

The  cock  shall  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice." 

And  as  his  mind  upon  the  meaning  dwelt 

His  bitter  tears  betrayed  the  grief  he  felt.  2805 

The  priests,  ringleaders  in  the  vile  intrigue,  Mk.  xv.  1-5 

With  all  the  sapient  old  men  in  their  league 

Who  joined  the  council,  sharing  in  their  shame, 

A  consultation  held,  when  morning  came : 

Jesus  they  bound  with  chains,  to  make  pretence  2810 

Of  guarding  well  a  man  of  violence ; 

Then  carrying  him,  and  giving  him  the  shape 

Of  one  who  strongly  struggles  to  escape. 

They  took  him  to  the  tetrarch,  and  they  said : 

"This  is  the  man  who  claims  that  on  his  head  2815 

The  royal  crown  should  rest.    He  should  be  tried 

And  for  his  treason  should  be  crucified ; 

For  even  now  he  heads  a  host  of  men." 

The  tetrarch  asked  him :  "Thou  art  truly,  then, 

'King  of  the  Starry  Realm'?"    And  answering,  2820 

Said  Jesus:  "Thou  hast  said  that  I  am  King 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  231 

Not  over  men,  but  over  hosts  of  stars  : 

The  heavens  are  mine,  although  through  prison  bars 

Mine  eyes  behold  them."    Then  the  priests  unloosed 

Their  venomous  tongues,  and  shamefully  traduced  2825 

The  crownless  King :  with  snaky,  hissing  breath, 

Him  they  accused  of  crimes  deserving  death. 

But  Jesus  gave  no  sign,  and  spoke  no  word. 

To  him  the  tetrarch  said :  "Now  thou  hast  heard 

The  many  accusations  which  are  made  2830 

By  all  these  godly  priests  who  are  arrayed 

Against  thee,  why  dost  thou  not  answer  them  ? 

Thou  knowest  that  't  is  thyself  I  must  condemn 

To  death  if  thou  canst  not  by  words  disprove 

Their  charges."    But  his  warning  failed  to  move  2835 

The  Master,  who  in  silence  at  him  gazed, 

Whereat  the  tetrarch  greatly  was  amazed. 

This  day  began  the  Feast  of  Flowers,  the  one    Mk.  xv.  6-9,  11-15 

In  honor  of  the  all-victorious  Sun, 

The  Lamb  with  Golden  Fleece,  who  is  pursued  2840 

By  wolves  of  night,  and  whom  the  hateful  brood 

Of  sombre  powers  bind  to  the  Cross  of  Spring 

In  vain  attempt  to  slay  the  Solar  King, 

Who  conquers  them  and  frees  from  Winter's  chains 

The  queenly  Earth ;  and  custom  so  ordains  2845 

That  at  this  feast  a  prisoner  be  freed. 

He,  whoso  't  is,  for  whom  the  people  plead. 

Is  given  his  freedom.     So  the  rabble  came 

Unto  the  tetrarch,  shouting  out  the  name 

Of  him  they  favored  :  "Jesus !    Jesus !    Free  2850 

Jesus  from  chains ;  for  all  of  us  agree 

That  he  deserves  his  freedom."    Unto  them 

The  tetrarch  said :  "I  did  but  now  condemn 

This  would-be  king  to  death :  your  priests  devout 

Have  proved  him  guilty,  past  a  shade  of  doubt,  2855 

Of  heinous  crimes;  and  yet  you  now  demand 

That  he  be  given  his  freedom  at  my  hand !" 


232  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  crowd,  for  answer,  roared  in  unison : 

"Away  with  him,  for  he  is  not  the  one ! 

Let  Jesus  surnamed  Time-born  be  unbound,  '  2860 

With  praise  of  whom  the  very  heavens  resound." 

This  Jesus  Time-bound,  who  in  prison  lay. 

Was  under  sentence  with  his  Hfe  to  pay 

For  crimes  he  had  committed.     He  had  nursed 

A  mad  ambition  to  become  the  first  2865 

Among  all  men :  desiring  power  and  pelf. 

And  having  love  for  no  one  save  himself. 

He  had  rebelled  against  the  Powers  that  rule 

All  humankind ;  with  scorn  and  ridicule 

He  had  denied  the  Gods,  and  had  inveighed  2870 

Against  the  Law  whose  faultless  scales  had  weighed 

His  flagrant  crimes.    In  truth,  this  Son  of  Time 

Had  stained  his  soul  with  every  vice  and  crime 

Named  by  the  priests  when  they  had  falsely  sworn 

Against  the  crownless  King,  the  Heaven-born.  2875 

Unto  the  crowd  the  tetrarch  said :  "Ye  claim 

The  freedom  of  that  other  man  whose  name 

Is  also  Jesus.     But  I  am  not  loth, 

Seeing  their  names  are  like,  to  free  them  both." 

But,  prompted  by  the  priests,  the  rabble  cried :  2880 

"Nay;  let  the  'Starry  King'  be  crucified  ! 

Give  him  to  us,  that  he  may  be  our  king 

During  the  feast — a  royal  offering 

Unto  the  Gods,  a  crowned  and  sceptred  one, 

Bound  on  his  cross,  as  if  he  were  the  Sun."  2885 

And  so  the  Son  of  Time,  who  like  a  beast 

Crouched  in  Delusion's  prison,  was  released: 

The  self  unreal,  that  had  with  phantoms  toyed, 

Was  freed  at  last — and  vanished  in  the  void! 

But  Jesus  by  the  mob  was  led  away,  2890 

A  victim  for  their  vernal  holiday. 

Outside  the  judgment-hall  the  ribald  crew  Matt,  xxvii.  27-32 

Made  him  a  gazing-stock  for  all  to  view : 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  233 

Pretending  that  in  Jesus  they  had  found 

A  king  to  rule  their  feast,  they  first  unbound  2895 

His  chains,  and  rudely  from  his  person  tore. 

And  threw  away,  the  garments  that  he  wore, 

Replacing  them  with  plaited  flowers  of  Spring, 

And  with  a  wreath  of  ivy  crowned  him  king. 

In  his  right  hand  they  put  a  vine-wrapped  rod,  2900 

With  pine-cone  tipped,  such  as  the  beauteous  God, 

The  Twice-born  Savior,  robed  in  changeless  youth, 

Who  founded  well  the  IMysteries  on  Truth, 

Bears  as  his  mighty  sceptre.     Then  the  crowd 

Knelt  down  before  him,  and  they  cried  aloud :  2905 

"Hail,  Dionysos,  King  of  starry  spheres, 

Judge  of  Mankind,  and  God  of  twice-born  Seers!" 

Then  circling  round  him  in  a  frantic  dance 

Each  knave  in  turn  before  him  would  advance 

And  with  a  thyrsos  strike  him  on  the  head.  2910 

While  all  the  mindless  mob,  the  living-dead. 

Kept  mocking  him,  as  in  a  children's  game, 

And  jeering  him,  until  the  soldiers  came. 

Bringing  his  cross.    These  led  him  to  his  fate ; 

And  finding  Simon  crouching  near  the  gate,  2915 

Still  mourning  for  his  Master  and  his  loss. 

Him  they  impressed,  that  he  might  bear  his  cross. 

For  Simon  towered  like  Atlas  in  his  strength. 

Proceeding  on  their  way,  they  came  at  length       Mk.  xv.  22,  25-27 

Unto  a  little  hill ;  't  was  like  a  bowl  2920 

Inverted.     For  its  rounded  shape,  this  knoll 

Was  called  "The  Skull."    The  third  hour  being  past, 

They  raised  the  cross,  on  which  they  had  bound  fast 

The  form  of  Jesus,  placing  o'er  his  head 

A  brief  inscription  of  his  crime ;  it  read  :  2925 

"The  Lord  of  Life  and  Death,  who  proudly  boasts 

That  he  is  King  of  all  the  Starry  Hosts." 

On  the  same  cross  with  him,  they  crucified 

Two  robbers,  binding  them  on  either  side. 


234  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  mob  flocked  round  as  if  to  play  the  part  Mk.  xv.  29-32 

Of  odious  vultures  tearing  at  his  heart :  2931 

Wagging  their  heads  and  holding  them  awry 

To  view  the  King  upon  his  cross  raised  high, 

At  him  they  railed,  thus  saying :  "Ha !  thou  great 

And  skilful  master-builder  who  didst  prate  2935 

Of  tearing  down  the  temple,  in  thy  craze, 

And  then  rebuilding  it  in  three  short  days, 

As  now  upon  the  cross  thy  body  dies 

Build  for  thyself  another  in  the  skies." 

Likewise  the  priests  displayed  their  heavy  wit :  2940 

Each  one  would  quote  an  adage,  making  it 

The  text  of  his  discourse,  as  if  he  took 

A  passage  garbled  from  a  sacred  book. 

Saying :  "Behold  the  Healer's  dying  throes ! 

'Physician,  heal  thyself,'  the  saying  goes.  2945 

Others  he  healed,  and  saved  them  from  the  grave; 

But,  strange  to  say,  himself  he  can  not  save!" 

And :  "  'Seeing  is  believing,'  men  assert. 

Now  let  the  Starry  King  his  power  exert 

To  save  himself,  and  from  the  cross  come  down,  2950 

That  we  may  then  have  faith — and  he,  renown." 

The  soldiers  mocked  him ;  filling  to  the  brim  Mk.  xv.  23 

A  cup  with  wdne,  and  offering  it  to  him. 

They  said :  "If  thou  art  Bakchos,  God  of  Wine, 

Drink  now  this  cup,  for  truly  it  is  thine."  2955 

The  malefactor  hanging  at  his  left,  Lk.  xxiii.  39-43 

Who  had  been  crucified  because  of  theft. 

Taunted  him,  saying:  "li  thou  hast  such  powers, 

O  King-magician,  save  thy  life  and  ours." 

But  he  w^io,  dying,  at  the  right  hand  hung  2960 

Said  to  the  knave :  "Hold  thy  envenomed  tongue ! 

'T  was  for  our  crimes  they  crucified  us  twain ; 

But  him  they  hate  because  no  sinful  stain 

Sullies  his  soul,  and  they  are  murdering 

One  who  in  Heaven  is  rightfully  a  King."  2965 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  235 

And  turning  unto  him  whose  brow  was  wreathed 

With  ivy,  thus  a  prayer  he  softly  breathed : 

"Lord  Dionysos,  when  the  Sire's  decree 

Enthrones  thee  in  thy  Reahn,  remember  me !" 

Him  Jesus  answered  :  "On  this  tree  of  death  970 

Unto  the  Gods  this  day  we  yield  our  breath ; 

Yet,  of  a  truth,  thou  shalt  with  me  this  day 

Stand  'neath  the  Tree  of  Life  whose  leaves  display 

The  healing  wisdom,  and  whose  fruitage  nods 

Twelvefold,  within  the  Garden  of  the  Gods."  2975 

His  mother  and  his  sisters,  mingling  not  Mk.  xv.  40 

With  that  insensate  mob,  yet  near  the  spot, 

Looked  on  in  silence;  for  their  fixed  belief 

In  his  divinity  subdued  their  grief. 

But  many  women,  standing  in  the  crowd,  Lk.  xxiii.  2^,  28 

Wept  at  the  woful  sight  and  w^ailed  aloud.  2981 

Said  Jesus  unto  them :  "Ye  maidens  fair, 

And  mothers  mild  who  mortal  children  bear. 

Weep  not  for  me,  whose  final  throes  ye  view ; 

For  I  among  the  Gods  am  born  anew.  2985 

Nay;  save  ye  for  yourselves  your  wealth  of  tears 

And  for  the  children  whom,  for  endless  years. 

Ye  clothe  in  flesh,  and  who,  despite  your  pangs 

And  mother-love,  are  fated  to  the  fangs 

Of  all-devouring  Death;  for  mortal  womb  2990 

Is  not  the  door  to  life,  but  to  the  tomb." 

The  sixth  hour  ended;  then  the  Sun  was  shorn     Mk.  xv.  2,},^  34'  3^ 

Of  his  effulgent  rays,  and  hung  forlorn, 

Impaled  on  high ;  and  he  was  crowned  instead 

With  darkened  rays,  as  he  were  garlanded  2995 

With  piercing  thorns.    And  so  for  three  dread  hours 

The  earth  was  veiled  in  darkness,  while  the  powers 

From  chaos  risen,  the  realm  of  endless  night. 

Strove  madly  now  to  slay  the  Lord  of  Light. 

The  ninth  hour  passed ;  and  then  with  mighty  voice  3000 

That  reached  the  Height  and  made  the  Gods  rejoice, 


236  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Jesus  cried  out :  "My  Heavenly  Father,  thou 

Hast  placed  the  promised  crown  upon  my  brow !" 

At  his  exultant  cry  the  empyrean 

Resounded  with  a  glad  victorious  paean  :  3005 

The  dense  dark  veil  that  hid  the  heavenly  height 

Was  torn  away ;  the  sombre  powers  of  night 

Fled  vanquished  from  the  field  of  cosmic  war; 

And  now  the  Sun,  immortal  Conqueror, 

Whom  all  the  Powers  of  Light  with  paeans  praise.  3010 

Was  crowned  anew  with  crystal-golden  rays. 

The  master-builder,  ere  the  day  was  done,     Matt,  xxvii.  57,  59-61 

Came  and  received  the  body  of  his  son. 

Which  from  the  cross  he  took,  still  ivy-crowned. 

A  linen  cloth,  of  purest  white,  he  wound  3015 

About  it ;  in  a  tomb  in  rock  recessed, 

Wherein  had  mortal  ne'er  been  laid  to  rest,  Lk.  xxiii.  53 

He  laid  the  Crucified,  and  all  alone, 

With  giant  strength  he  rolled  a  mighty  stone 

Unto  the  entrance,  safely  closing  thus  3020 

The  tomb  against  all  mortals  impious. 

The  Master's  mother,  and  his  sister  whom 

He  'd  saved  from  sin,  were  seated  near  the  tomb ; 

And  in  the  twilight,  lingering,  they  stayed. 

Watching  the  place  where  they  had  seen  him  laid,  3025 

Departing  only  when  the  sky  was  strewn 

With  stars  and  brightened  by  the  brilliant  moon. 

The  third  day  after,  when  the  misty  dawn  Mk.  xvi.  1-3 

Over  the  eager  east  a  veil  had  drawn 

Of  filmy  opalescence,  they  returned  3030 

Unto  the  tomb  of  him  for  whom  they  yearned. 

Bringing  sweet-scented  oil  wherewith  they  might 

Anoint  his  body  as  the  last  sad  rite. 

As  they  drew  near  the  tomb,  the  star  of  morn 

Was  fading,  and  the  Sun,  the  Heaven-born,  3035 

Showed  in  the  east  his  gleaming  diadem 

As  mounting  toward  his  throne  he  greeted  them, 


THE  CROWNING  OF  JESUS  237 

Blessing  the  scene  with  his  Hfe-giving  breath 

Till  flamed  with  living  gold  the  House  of  Death. 

They,  gazing  at  its  entrance  with  dismay,  3040 

Were  saying :  "Who  shall  roll  for  us  away 

That  massive  boulder?"    For  they  did  not  share 

The  godlike  strength  of  him  who  placed  it  there. 

E'en  as  they  spoke,  the  Earth,  parturient.  Matt,  xxviii.  2 

Quivered  until  the  solid  rocks  were  rent :  3045 

The  stone  was  rolled  away,  and  when  the  strife 

Of  elements  had  ceased,  the  House  of  Life — 

For  such  the  tomb  had  now  become  in  truth — 

Was  open,  and  within  they  saw  a  youth,  Mk.  xvi.  4-6 

Perfect  in  manly  beauty,  though  his  face  3050 

And  form  showed  likewise  woman's  every  grace. 

Ensphered  was  he  in  glory  like  the  Sun ; 

His  raiment,  on  the  lightning's  distafif  spun 

And  woven  by  the  stars  on  Heaven's  loom, 

Filled  with  a  dazzling  light  that  cavern-tomb.  305 5 

Unto  the  women,  who  stood  wondering, 

This  sun-rayed  God,  this  Conqueror  and  King, 

Anointed,  crowned,  immortal,  softly  said: 

"Come  ye  in  sorrow  to  anoint  your  dead. 

The  Crucified?    Behold  me!    I  am  he —  3060 

His  risen  Self,  now  deathless,  crowned,  and  free." 

Thtis  ends  the  story  of  the  Seer  whose  name, 

Now  knozvn  as  Jesus,  has  become  enshrined 
In  many  million  hearts  since  he  became 

One  of  the  sun-robed  Saviors  of  mankind.  3065 

What  matters  it  that  ne'er  on  earth  he  trod,  . 

And  ne'er  was  crucified?    He  lives  for  aye 
A  hero  who  became  the  Solar  God, 

Lord  Dionysos,  in  a  Mystery-play. 
Among  mankind  a  few  in  every  age  3070 

Have  conquered  self,  and  through  that  conquest  died 


238  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

To  every  sin,  as  on  the  sacred  stage 

The  hero  of  this  play  was  crucified; 
And  thev,  as  zvell,  have  risen  from  the  dead, 

Arrayed  in  shining  vesture  like  the  sun  3075 

When  o'er  the  earth  its  brightest  beams  are  shed — 

A  croivnhi  Dionysos,  every  one, 
A  twice-born  Seer  and  Savior.    But  they  ask 

No  servile  worship.    From  the  world  withdrawn. 
Yet  ivatching  o'er  mankind,  theirs  is  the  task  3080 

Of  guiding  souls  that  seek  the  mystic  Dawn. 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE 
FOURTH  GOSPEL 

Note.  —  The  Gospel  according  to  John,  in  its  present  form,  can 
only  be  regarded  as  a  mystical  romance.  It  may  have  been  written 
originally  by  a  Neo-Platonist  who  was  more  or  less  versed  in  the 
true  Mysteries;  but  it  has  been  "overworked"  and  "historicized" 
into  a  crude  harmony  with  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  In  details,  how- 
ever, it  often  conflicts  with  the  Synoptics,  though  no  more  so  than 
they  conflict  one  with  another;  and  whenever  it  speaks  of  Jewish 
customs  or  Palestinian  geography  it  is  almost  invariably  incor- 
rect. As  in  the  case  of  the  Synoptics,  the  forger,  or  forgers,  who 
overworked  it  had  but  little  information  relating  to  the  Jews  and 
no  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  tongue.  As  a  pseudo- version  of  the 
lesous-mythos,  it  is  distinctly  inferior  to  the  fuller  text  of  the 
Synoptics,  and  a  translation  of  the  whole  of  it  would  therefore 
serve  no  useful  purpose  here.  But  it  contains  passages  of  great 
power  and  beauty,  which  in  their  profound  meaning  are  comple- 
mental  to  the  teachings  found  in  the  Synoptic  allegory,  though  ex- 
pressed in  a  different  form  and  evidently  drawn  from  another 
source.  A  few  of  these  characteristic  passages  are  here  presented, 
freely  paraphrased :  a  close  translation  would  be  almost  unintel- 
ligible to  the  reader  who  is  unacquainted  with  the  Neo-Platonic 
philosophy,  and  even  misleading  if  the  translator  were  to  follow 
slavishly  the  Greek  text  as  it  now  reads  after  passing  through  the 
hands  of  the  ignorant  Christian  priests  who  mutilated  it. 

Chapter  i.  1-14,  16,  18 

The  divine  Thought  inhered  in  the  primordial  Element, 
And  proximate  to  the  Unmanifested  God  was  this  divine  Thought; 
And  verily  the  divine  Thought  was  the  secondary  God  : 


240  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

In  the  primordial  Element,  proximate  to  the  Unmanifested,  was 
this  manifested  God. 
Through  him  was  emanated  the  vast  Universe, 
And  not  one  single  thing  was  emanated  save  through  him. 
That  which  has  heen  emanated  in  him  was  Life  as  pure  quint- 
essence, 
And  the  Life  was  the  Light  of  the  eternal  Men. 

The  Light  shines  forth  in  the  chaotic  Darkness, 
And  the  Darkness  can  not  grasp  or  hold  it  back. 

There  appeared  a  Seer — loannes  was  his  name — 

Who  was  the  Messenger  of  the  Manifested  God: 
For  witness  he  came,  to  bear  w-itness  about  the  Light, 
That  through  him  all  might  walk  the  shining  path. 

He  himself  was  not  the  Light  of  the  divine  Thought, 

But  he  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  the  Light. 

That  was  the  true  Light  which  lights  every  man  coming  into  the 

world. 
He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world  was  emanated  through  him. 

And  yet  the  world  of  mortals  had  no  knowledge  of  him : 

To  abodes  that  are  his  own  he  came,  but  they  who  are  his  own 
received  him  not. 
But  as  many  as  received  him  he  empowered  to  become  Sons  of  God, 
Sons  who  are  not  born,  as  mortals  are,  of  human  parents, 

Neither  from  woman's  body  nor  from  man's  desire, 

But  of  the  Manifested  God's  all-potent  will. 

Thus  in  the  Seer  the  divine  Thought  incarnates  as  the  indwelling 

Self; 
And  Seers  behold  his  haloed  form.  Beauty  and  Truth  embodied^ 

The  effulgence  of  the  Self-born,  whose  Father  is  himself. 

Of  his  effulgence  every  Seer  receives,  beauty  ever  imaging  beauty. 
Forever  invisible  remains  the  Unmanifested  God; 
The  Son,  self-born  from  the  World-Mother's  womb, 

Alone  can  make  Him  known  to  mortal  man  ; 

And  to  this  Manifested  God  loannes  bears  witness. 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL  241 

COMMENTARY 

The  cosmogony  briefly  outlined  in  the  prologue  is  the  same  as 
that  which  underlies  every  ancient  religious  system  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. The  universe  emanates  from  the  primordial  substance 
through  the  power  of  divine  ideation.  The  common  rendering, 
"in  the  beginning,"  is  erroneous  and  really  meaningless :  for  archc 
here  signifies,  not  "beginning,"  but  "origin,"  the  Archeus,  or  first 
element  from  which  the  universe  is  evolved ;  and  as  the  universe  is 
ever  evolving  as  an  expression  of  divine  ideation,  it  has  no  begin- 
ning or  ending,  in  an  absolute  sense.  True,  the  English  word  "be- 
ginning" may  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "coming  into  existence,"  but 
it  can  not  well  be  given  that  meaning  here ;  the  "authorized"  version 
in  this,  as  in  the  first  sentence  of  Genesis,  conforms  to  the  crude 
theological  notion  that  a  personal  God  made  the  universe,  a  notion 
originating  in  the  dark  ages  of  Christianity,  before  modern  think- 
ers had  rediscovered  the  evolutionary  principle  in  nature.  The 
theory  of  evolution  is  basic  in  ancient  religion.  As  set  forth  in  the 
prologue  to  the  Fourth  Gospel,  the  Logos  is  the  abstract  Thought, 
which  becomes  formulated  as  the  Idea,  or  mental  image,  and  then 
as  the  \\'ord,  or  externalized  expression  of  the  Idea :  figurativelv, 
the  Universe  is  spoken  into  existence.  Similarly,  the  Life  within  the 
Logos,  that  is,  the  vivifying  power  of  the  Thought,  becomes  ob- 
jectivized  as  Light,  the  illuminating  principle  of  the  uttered  Idea. 
This  Light  is  identical  with  the  Pneuma,  and  being  regarded  as  a 
female  principle  it  was  also  called  the  "Daughter  of  the  Logos." 
As  manifested  in  man,  it  is  the  potency  (dyuauiis)  conferring  the 
faculty  of  seership.  The  chaos,  dark  and  turbid,  is  the  residuum 
of  preceding  world-periods.  The  common  version,  "The  darkness 
comprehended  it  not,"  is  a  mistranslation ;  the  figure  is  that  of  tlie 
Dragon  of  Darkness  pursuing  the  Sun  to  devour  it. 

loannes,  a  variant  of  Cannes,  the  Fish-god,  personifies  the  psychic 
consciousness  as  the  forerunner  of  the  noetic.  Cannes,  who  was 
represented  as  having  the  head  and  arms  of  a  man  with  the  body 
and  tail  of  a  fish,  was  fabled  to  spend  his  days  on  the  earth  and  to 
withdraw  at  night  into  the  great  sea.     The  sea,  or  "great  deep,"  is 


242  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

mystically  the  psychic  world.  In  sleep  the  consciousness  passes 
from  the  objective  to  the  psychic  plane.  A  man  who  has  correlated 
the  waking  consciousness  with  that  of  the  subjective  states  never 
"sleeps,"  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  when  his  physical  body 
is  taking  its  rest,  since  there  is  no  suspension  of  consciousness ; 
neither  does  he  have  chaotic  and  meaningless  dreams  or  useless  vi- 
sions. Oannes  is  thus  the  type  of  the  psychic  stage  of  development. 
Dionysos,  however,  represents  the  spiritual  degree  of  initiation,  that 
of  the  true  Seer  who  has  been  "born  from  above." 

The  Logos  comprises  the  collective  host  of  the  eternal  "Men,"  the 
spiritual  Selves  of  humanity.  The  man  who  receives  his  true  Self 
becomes,  when  perfected,  a  self-born  Initiate ;  hence  the  Initiates 
were  termed  "Men,"  as  distinguished  from  the  profane,  the  living- 
dead,  who  have  not  yet  reached  the  true  human  stage.  The  term 
rnonogcncs,  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  solar  cult,  did  not  mean  "only- 
begotten,"  but  signified  "born  from  one  parent  only."  Here  it  is 
descriptive  of  men  reborn  in  the  solar  body,  which  is  mystically 
said  to  be  formed  of  the  flesh  of  the  Logos,  who  is  symbolized  by 
the  Sun :  the  soul  of  the  perfected  man  is  vestured,  not  in  the  gross 
elements  of  this  earth,  but  in  the  finer  elements  pertaining  to  the 
Sun.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  lesous  is  represented  as  saying  (vi. 
56) ,  "He  who  eats  my  flesh  and  drinks  my  blood  abides  in  me,  and  I 
in  him."  The  symbolic  apportioning  of  his  flesh  and  blood  among 
his  disciples  at  the  "Last  Supper"  holds  the  same  meaning. 

The  statement  in  verse  14  that  "we  beheld  his  glory"  would  be 
untrue  if  "we"  did  not  refer  to  those  only  who  have  the  faculty  of 
seership.  The  text  has  evidently  been  "historicized"  to  make  out 
that  all  the  disciples  beheld  the  "glory"  of  lesous.  Verses  15  and  17 
are  clearly  interpolations,  breaking  in  on  the  sense  and  dragging 
in  the  pseudo-Jewish  "historical"  fraud.  In  verse  18  the  Son  is 
said  to  be  "in  the  bosom  of  the  Father" ;  but  this  appears  to  be  a 
theological  emendation :  for  koXtto?  is  used  for  "womb"  as  well  as 
"lap"  or  "bosom,"  and  the  solar  body  is  formed  in  the  matrix  of 
the  "World-Mother."  The  early  Christians  had  a  fanatical  preju- 
dice against  women :  they  converted  the  Pneuma  into  a  masculine 
principle,  and  though  the  "Virgin  Mary"  was  at  first  held  to  be  a 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL  243 

sort  of  Goddess,  the  reformers  dethroned  her  and  made  her  out  to 
be  quite  an  ordinary  mortal.  But  in  the  FourtJi  Gospel  women  fig- 
ure more  prominently  than  they  do  in  the  Synoptics,  and  its  charac- 
teristic features  seem  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Mysteries 
of  Demeter,  "the  Mother  of  the  Beautiful  Child,"  as  she  was  called 
in  the  Thesmophoria,  or  mystic  cult  of  the  women  of  Athens. 

Chapter  ii.  i-io 

On  the  third  day  of  the  Mysteries  of  the  Mother  of  the  Glorious 
Child,  the  rite  of  the  mystic  Marriage  was  celebrated.  And  lesous, 
the  worthy  candidate,  was  there  with  his  disciples.  .  .  .  And  when 
the  wine  had  failed,  the  Mother  said  to  him : 

"They  have  now  no  wine." 

lesous  said  to  her  : 

"Revered  one,  what  would  you  have  me  do?  My  hour  to  be  re- 
born has  not  3-et  come."  ... 

Said  the  Alother  to  the  servers  : 

"Do  whatever  he  may  tell  you." 

Now,  there  were  six  water- jugs  of  stone  in  place  there.  lesous 
said  to  the  servers  : 

"Fill  the  jugs  with  water." 

And  they  filled  them  to  the  brim.    Again  he  said  to  them : 

"Draw  out  now  from  the  sixth  jug  and  fill  the  wine-cup,  and 
bring  it  to  the  director  of  the  banquet." 

They  did  so,  and  brought  the  cup.  And  the  director  of  the  ban- 
quet tasted  the  contents  of  the  cup,  and  perceived  that  the  water 
had  been  changed  into  wine.    Then  said  he : 

"Men  usually  serve  the  good  wine  first,  following  it  with  the 
weaker  sort  if  the  guests  have  drunk  too  freely;  but  you  have  kept 
the  strong  wine  till  the  last." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Thesmophoria,  or  Mysteries  of  Demeter  and  Persephone, 
celebrated  by  matrons,  assisted  by  a  priest  and  a  band  of  virgins, 
lasted  three  days;  one  of  the  ceremonies  was  the  dramatic  per- 
formance of  a  symbolic  marriage.     The  festival  on  the  third  day 


244 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


was  called  KaXXiyeveia,  for  Demeter,  "the  Mother  of  the  Glorious 
Child."  The  account  of  the  proceedings  on  "the  third  day,"  as 
given  in  the  Gospel,  is  obviously  incomplete:  the  marriage  itself  is 

barely  mentioned,  the 

bride  and  the  bride- 
groom are  not  named, 
the  conversation  be- 
tween lesous  and  the 
Mother  is  discon- 
nected and  obscure, 
and  in  the  text  the 
wine-cup  is  only  indi- 
rectly referred  to.  It 
is  clear  that  the  story 
has  been  much  cur- 
tailed in  the  interest 
of  "history,"  practi- 
cally nothing  but  the 
"miracle"  having  been 
preserved,  and  even 
that  not  escaping 
mutilation.  Although 
lesous  is  brought  in 
merely  as  one  of  the 
invited  guests,  his 
feat  of  turning  the 
water  into  wine  shows 
that  he  is  in  fact  the 
candidate  for  initia- 
tion, and  that  he  is, 
therefore,  the  "bridegroom"  of  the  mystic  union.  The  director 
of  the  banquet  is  the  Hierophant,  or  Initiator,  personifying  the 
Self.  The  six  water-jugs  stand  for  six  of  the  chakras,  and  the 
wine-cup  for  the  seventh.  This  cup  is  the  sacred  wine-cup  of 
the  Sun-God.  The  changing  of  the  water  into  wine  signifies  the 
transition  from  the  psychic  to  the  spiritual  state  of  consciousness. 


Demeter 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL  245 

So  closely  were  the  secrets  of  the  Thesmophoria  guarded  that 
nothing"  is  known  with  certainty  concerning  the  rites  on  the  third 
day.  Some  modern  authorities  doubt  that  the  "sacred  marriage" 
was  performed  in  these  Mysteries,  and  question  whether  any  but 
women  were  allowed  to  take  part  in,  or  even  be  present  at,  the  rites 
at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings.  But  there  is  evidence  that  men  did 
participate  in  the  ceremonies;  and  images  of  Dionysos,  Demeter  and 
Persephone  were  kept  in  the  temple  at  Athens  where  the  rites  were 
celebrated.  With  the  Greeks  the  mystic  union  was  so  inseparably 
associated  with  the  sacred  JNIysteries  that  ordinary  marriage  came  to 
be  regarded  as  a  sort  of  initiation.  In  the  Greek  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  marriage  is  still  regarded  as  a  sacrament,  the  Greek 
church  including  it  among  the  "seven  sacraments."  Christianity 
thus  perpetuates  a  mere  popular  superstition ;  whereas  with  the  wise 
"pagans"  of  old  the  "sacred  marriage"  symbolized  the  union  of  the 
initiate's  purified  lower  nature  with  his  immortal  Self. 

"Cana  of  Galilee,"  where  this  miracle  is  said  to  have  been  per- 
formed, belongs  exclusively  to  the  geography  of  the  Fourth  Gos- 
pel, and  is  as  unhistorical  as  the  miracle  itself. 

Chapter  iit.  1-12 ;  xii.  36 

An  exoteric  priest,  Nikodemos  by  name,  one  of  the  class  who  rule 
the  people  in  matters  of  religious  belief,  came  to  lesous  by  night 
and  said  to  him : 

"Master  of  Wisdom,  how  can  a  man  gain  entrance  to  the  divine 
Realm?" 

lesous  answered  him : 

"Truly  I  say  to  you,  A  man  can  not  enter  into  the  divine  Realm 
until  he  has  been  born  from  above." 

Said  the  religious  ruler  to  him : 

"How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old?  Can  he  return  to  his 
mother's  womb  and  be  born  anew  ?" 

lesous  answered  : 

"A  man  can  not  enter  into  the  divine  Realm  until  he  has  been 
born  of  Water  and  of  Air.  He  who  is  born  of  woman's  womb  is 
clothed  in  mortality;  but  he  who  is  born  of  the  World-Mother,  the 


C46  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

supernal  Air,  is  robed  in  immortality.  The  air  blows  where  it  wills, 
and  vou  hear  its  \oice,  but  you  know  not  whence  it  comes  nor  where 
it  goes.  So,  likewise,  you  know  not  the  divine  origin  or  the  future 
destiny  of  the  Immortals  who  have  been  born  of  the  supernal  Air." 

Said  to  him  the  priest : 

"How,  then,  can  this  second  l)irth  be  attained?" 

lesous  said  to  him  : 

"Are  you  a  religious  teacher  of  the  people,  and  have  no  know- 
ledge of  the  sacred  Mysteries?  What  we,  the  Initiates,  know,  we 
are  willing  to  impart,  and  to  bear  witness  to  glories  that  only  Seers 
behold;  but  you,  in  the  false  pride  of  lifeless  learning,  accept  not 
our  testimony.  Ever  from  times  remote  we  have  handed  down  to 
you  the  noble  truths  of  philosophy,  but  you  have  misinterpreted  and 
misapplied  them :  how,  then,  were  I  to  reveal  to  you  the  mystery 
of  the  new  birth,  would  you  understand  the  teaching,  and  strive 
rightly  to  become  a  Son  of  the  Light?" 

COMMENTARY 

Nikodemos,  a  common  Greek  name,  signifies  "Conqueror  of  the 
People";  and  this  little  story  satirizes  the  ignorance  of  the  priests 
(the  "Pharisees"  of  the  falsified  text)  who  domineer  over  the 
common  people  and  dictate  to  them  in  everything  that  relates  to 
religion.  The  priestly  Nikodemos  could  not  have  been  more  densely 
ignorant  of  spiritual  truths  if  he  had  lived  in  modern  days  and  had 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  lesous  uses  the  word 
andthcn  in  its  proper  sense,  "from  above,"  that  is,  "from  a  divine 
source,"  but  Nikodemos  ignorantly  takes  it  to  mean  "over  again." 
In  verse  1 1  lesous  speaks  in  the  plural  as  "we,"  thus  including  him- 
self with  the  Initiates,  the  Twice-born. 

The  initiates  were  said  to  descend  into  the  earth  and  to  be  reborn 
therefrom.  Hesiod  bids  the  Muses  "Sing  the  holy  race  of  Immor- 
tals, ever  existing,  who  from  Earth  were  born  and  born  from  Starry 
Heaven."  The  Muses,  the  daughters  of  Zeus  and  Mnemosyne,  God- 
dess of  Memory,  were  supposed  to  inspire  men  to  the  "fine  frenzy" 
of  genius  and  of  seership.  In  the  Mysteries  the  soul  of  the  candi- 
date had  to  descend  into  the  underworld  before  it  could  attain  the 


SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL  247 

new  birth:  mystically,  the  candidate  died  and  was  then  reborn.  In 
the  Eleuthernse  tablet  the  soul  is  represented  as  saying,  on  its  arrival 
at  the  other  world :  "I  am  parched  with  thirst  and  I  perish."  It  is 
answered :  "Nay,  drink  of  me,  the  well-spring  flowing  forever  at  the 
right,  where  the  Cypress  is.  Who  art  thou?  Whence  art  thou?" 
The  soul  replies:  "I  am  a  son  of  Earth  and  of  Starry  Heaven."  In 
the  Petelia  tablet,  recently  discovered,  the  soul  says  to  the  warders : 
"I  am  a  child  of  Earth  and  of  Starry  Heaven.  But  my  race  is 
of  Heaven  alone.  This  ye  know  yourselves.  And  lo,  I  am  parched 
with  thirst  and  I  perish.  Give  me  quickly  the  cold  water  flowing 
forth  from  the  Lake  of  Memory." 

The  statement  in  verse  51  that  any  one  who  shall  observe  the 
secret  doctrine  will  be  free  from  death  during  the  generative  cycle 
(literally,  "shall  not  see  death  throughout  the  aeon")  is  true  in  the 
sense  that  one  who  by  self-purification  becomes  able  to  retain  an 
unbroken  memory  between  incarnations  (drinking  from  the  well- 
spring  of  Mnemosyne  and  not  from  that  of  Lethe)  is  really  immor- 
tal even  while  his  soul  is  still  under  the  necessity  of  migrating  from 
one  mortal  body  to  another. 

Chapter  viii.  12-15,  23,  24,  51 

Said  lesous  to  the  orthodox  religionists : 

"The  Light  of  the  World  am  I ;  he  who  goes  with  me  shall  never 
walk  in  the  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  Light  of  Life." 

They  said  to  him  : 

"You  are  bearing  witness  about  yourself;  your  witness  is  not 
credible." 

lesous  answered : 

"Even  if  I  am  bearing  witness  about  myself,  my  witness  is  credi- 
ble, because  I  know  my  divine  source  and  destination ;  whereas  you 
know  not  whence  man  comes  or  where  he  goes.  You  perceive  only 
the  external  manifestations  of  life;  and  these  are  naught  to  me. 
For  you  are  of  this  material  world,  and  I  am  not  of  this  material 
world.  You  are  of  the  mortals;  I  am  of  the  Immortals.  Because 
of  your  sins  you  are  born  but  to  die,  and  die  but  to  be  born ;  and 
unless  you  believe  that  I  Am,  your  sins  will  bind  you  forever  to  the 


248  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

wheel  of  birth  and  death.  But  of  a  truth  I  say  to  you,  He  who 
observes  my  arcane  doctrine  shall  become  free  from  death  even 
while  the  generative  cycle  endures." 

COMMENTARY 

lesous,  personifying  the  Sun-God  (the  Logos  or  Nous),  declares 
himself  to  be  the  Light  of  the  World.  Light  here  signifies  spiritual 
wisdom,  while  darkness  implies  the  lack  of  it.  By  basing  their 
religious  system  upon  faith— not  the  enlightened  faith  which  springs 
from  intuition,  but  the  unreasoning  credulity  which  ignorant  dog- 
matists demand— the  real  founders  of  Christianity,  the  exoteric 
priests,  caused  their  followers  to  "walk  in  the  darkness"  and  were 
mainly  responsil)le  for  the  period  known  in  European  history  as 
the  dark  ages. 

In  verse  23  "those  below"  (6t  kcitcu)  are  the  earthly  men,  the  mor- 
tals, and  "those  above"  (6t  dvo))  are  the  divine  men,  the  Immor- 
tals. The  mortals  are  passing  through  the  cycle  of  reincarnation  in 
the  illusion  of  Time ;  the  Immortals  are  free,  dwelling  in  the  Eter- 
nal, the  "I  Am,"  that  ever-present  which  knows  neither  past  nor 
future. 


mtt, 


>  ■'-. 


*0  Ntxwv    1,000 

(The  Conqueror) 

'FjlZlGTfllLOJV    999 

( Intuitively  Wise  ) 
(The  Higher  Mind) 


(The  Cross) 


H  Op/^v 

(The  Lower  Mind  ) 

ETnGufxCa 


(  Desire) 


■P' 

(Sensuality) 


A  favorable 
incarnation 


(Auspicious) 

Or/.b. 

(House) 


888 
777 
666 
555 


7r£ipr]f/.a      444 

?(  The  Serpent-coil ) 
,^-  TAxpaafa        333 


111 
til 


(The  Key  of  the  Sacred  Science  ) 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE   INITIATION 
OF  lOANNES 

In  the  following  introductory  analysis  it  will  be  shown  that  the 
Apocalypse  is  a  coherent  whole,  symmetrical,  and  having  every  de- 
tail fitted  into  its  appropriate  place  with  studied  care.  In  its  or- 
derly arrangement  and  concise  statement  the  book  is  a  model  of 
precise  literary  workmanship.  But  it  contains  a  series  of  elaborate 
puzzles,  some  of  which  are  based  upon  the  numerical  values  of  cer- 
tain Greek  words,  thereby  serving  to  verify  the  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  more  important  symbols ;  and  as  the  detailed  explanation 
of  these  in  the  analysis  would  interrupt  the  interpretation  of  the 
book  as  a  whole,  for  the  sake  of  clearness  the  solution  of  these  puz- 
zles will  here  be  given  in  advance. 

In  the  Apocalypse  four  animal-symbols  or  beasts  (thcria)  are 
conspicuous  dramatis  personco:  (i)  a  Lamb  (or  "little  Ram," 
arnion),  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  and  who  is  identified 
as  lesous,  who  becomes  "the  Conqueror";  (2)  a  beast  resembling 
a  Leopard,  with  a  bear's  feet  and  a  lion's  mouth,  and  having  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns;  (3)  a  red  Dragon,  having  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns,  and  who  is  "the  Devil  and  Satan";  and  (4)  a  beast  having 
two  horns  like  a  Lamb  but  speaking  like  a  Dragon,  and  who  is  called 
the  Pseudo-Seer,  or  false  teacher  {pscudo-prophctcs) .  Of  these 
four  the  Leopard  is  particularly  referred  to  as  "the  Beast";  and 
concerning  him  the  Apocalyptist  says : 

"Here  is  cleverness  (sophia)  :  he  who  has  the  Nous,  let  him 
count  the  number  of  the  Beast ;  for  it  is  the  number  of  a  man,  and 
his  number  is  666." 

The  "cleverness"  of  this  puzzle  lies  in  its  very  simplicity;  for  the 
words  "the  Nous"  (6  vov<s),  the  familiar  term  in  Greek  philosophy 
for  the  higher  mind  or  man,  naturally  suggest  the  correct  answer, 
the  Phren    ( rj  (j)prjv),  the  cognate  term   for  the  lower  mind  or 


1000  Ho  iViA:on,  "The  Conqueror '* 
999  Epistemon,  Intuitively  Wise 
888    lesous,  the  Higher  Mind 

I.    "The  Lamb  " 
777    Stauros,  the  Cross 


666    He  Phren,  the  Lower  Mind 
IL    "The  Beast" 


555    Epithumia,  Desire 

IIL    "The  Red  Dragon 


444    Speirema,  the  Serpent-coil 
333     Akrasia,  Sensuality 
IV.  "The  False  Seer  " 


The  Gnostic  Chart  Concealed  in  the  Apocalypse 


1.  The  Conqueror 

2.  Intuitively  Wise 

3.  Th 

e  Higher  Mind 

{ho  nikon  ) 

{epistemon  ) 

{lesous  ) 

5    ....    70 

c 

....       5 

'I 

.    ...     10 

V    ....    50 

IT 

....     80 

V 

.      8 

.....     10 

I 

....     10 

a 

.  200 

K    ....    20 

ar 

....       6 

0 

.     70 

w    .     .     .     .800 

V 

....       8 

V 

.  400 

v    ....     50 

P- 

....     40 

s 

.  200 

1,000 

0) 
V 

....  800 
....     50 

999 

888 

4.  The  Cross 

5.  The  Lower  Mind 

3.  Desire 

(stauros  ) 

(he  phren  ) 

(epithumia  ) 

ar    •     •     '     '      6 

V 

....      8 

c 

...      5 

a     .     .     . 

.       1 

<f> 

....  500 

IT 

80 

V      •      '      - 

.  400 

P 

....  100 

I 

10 

p    .     .     . 

.   100 

V 

....      8 

6 

.      9 

o     •     •     . 

.     70 

V 

....    50 

V      ' 

400 

«... 

200 

666 

fi    . 

40 

777 

1     • 
a    • 

10 
1 

555 

7.  The  Serpent-coil 

8. 

Incontinence 

(8.)  I 

licentiousness 

{speirema  ) 

{akrasia  ) 

( 

akolasia  ) 

a    .     .     .     .200 

d 

.    .     .     .       1 

d     • 

...       I 

TT      •       •       ' 

80 

K 

....    20 

K      ' 

20 

e     .     .     . 

5 

P 

.     ...  100 

o     • 

70 

I     .     .     . 

10 

a 

.     .     .     .       1 

A    . 

30 

p    .    .    .    . 

100 

a 

....  200 

a     • 

I 

V    '     '    '    ' 

8 

I 

.     ...     10 

a    • 

200 

fi    .    .     .    . 

40 

a 

.     .     .     .       1 

I 

10 

a    •     .     .     . 

1 

333 

a     ' 

1 

444 


333 


The  Numbers  of  the  Names 


252  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

man.  As  numbers  are  expressed  in  Greek  by  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet,  and  not  by  arithmetical  figures,  the  number  of  a  name  is 
simply  the  sum  of  the  numerical  values  of  the  letters  composing  it. 
Thus  the  numerical  value  of  he  phrcn  is  666.  If  this  were  the 
whole  of  the  puzzle,  it  would  be  almost  puerile;  but  it  is,  in  fact, 
only  a  part  of,  and  the  clue  to,  an  elaborate  puzzle,  which  in  its  en- 
tirety is  remarkably  ingenious.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  Beast, 
the  phrenic  mind,  is  the  faculty  ruling  over  one  of  the  four  somatic 
divisions,  from  which  the  natural  inference  is  drawn  that  the  three 
other  beasts  likewise  are  the  regents  of  the  three  other  somatic 
divisions.  The  Lamb,  lesous,  would  therefore  stand  for  the  high- 
est of  these,  the  Nous.  Now,  the  word  Icsoiis  gives  the  sum  888. 
The  red  Dragon,  "the  archaic  serpent,  who  is  the  Devil  and  Satan," 
fits  neatly  into  place  as  the  ruler  of  the  third  somatic  division,  cpi- 
thiimia,  which  word  yields  the  number  555.  The  fourth  beast,  the 
"False  Prophet,"  takes  his  place  in  the  fourth  division  as  the  gen- 
erative principle,  akrasia,  "sensuality,"  the  number  of  his  name 
being  333.  Plato  applies  to  this  principle  the  word  akolasia,  which 
has  the  same  meaning  and  the  same  numerical  value. 

Placing  these  four  names,  with  their  numbers,  in  the  form  of  a 
diagram  of  the  four  somatic  divisions,  it  becomes  apparent  that  the 
puzzle  is  still  only  partly  solved,  for  evidently  a  complete  series  of 
numbers  is  intended.  A  space  is  left  where  the  diagram,  to  fill  out 
the  meaning,  requires  the  cross,  and  another  space  for  the  "good 
serpent,"  the  regenerative  force;  the  "bad  serpent,"  the  Devil,  the 
lust  for  life  which  leads  to  generation,  being  already  included.  The 
number  of  the  cross,  stauros,  is  yyy  (the  letters  or  being  taken,  of 
course,  as  q-  :=  6) .  The  spiralling  electric  force,"the  coil  of  the  ser- 
pent," is  the  speircma,  which  word  gives  the  number  444.  Now, 
the  action  of  this  force  upon  the  brain,  where  its  triple  current 
forms  the  cross,  gives  the  noetic  perception,  direct  cognition  (the 
epistemc,  or  highest  degree  of  knowledge,  so  beautifully  defined  by 
Plato),  and  to  express  this  in  the  diagram  it  becomes  necessary  to 
insert  the  word  epistemon,  the  philosophic  equivalent  for  the  word 
christos;  its  numerical  value  is  999.     Further,  he  who  has  attained 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      253 

to  this  higher  knowledge  forthwith  becomes  the  conqueror,  and  as 
"the  Conqueror"  is  the  hero,  so  to  say,  of  the  Apocalyptic  Drama, 
his  name  must  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  list,  as  Jio  nikon,  with 
its  number,  1,000. 

The  diagram  thus  completed  makes  clear  the  basic  teaching  of 
the  Apocalypse,  which  treats  of  the  speircnia  and  its  energizing 
through  the  vital  centres  as  the  Conqueror  gains  mastery  over  them 
and  builds  up  for  himself,  out  of  that  primordial  substance,  his  im- 
mortal vehicle,  the  monogenetic  or  solar  body.  This  deathless  solar 
vesture  is  symbolized  as  a  city  which  comes  down  out  of  the  sky, 
enveloped  in  the  radiance  (do.ra)  of  the  God,  and  it  is  portrayed 
with  poetic  imagery  of  exquisite  beauty.  The  description,  with  its 
wealth  of  detail,  should  be  enough  to  show  very  clearly  what  the 
city  really  is ;  but  loannes  has  supplied  conclusive  proof  of  the  true 
meaning  by  inserting  in  the  description  a  puzzle  which  reads  as  fol- 
lows : 

"The  Divinity  who  was  talking  with  me  had  for  a  measure  a 
golden  reed,  to  measure  the  city,  its  gateways,  and  its  wall.  The 
city  lies  foursquare,  and  its  length  is  as  great  as  the  width.  He 
measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  by  stadia,  twelve  thousand ;  its 
length,  width  and  height  are  equal.  And  he  measured  its  wall,  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  cubits,  [including]  the  measure  of  a  man, 
that  is,  of  a  Divinity." 

As  the  expression  "by  stadia"  (eVt  crraStoji')  shows  that  the 
measurement  should  not  be  taken  in  stadia,  it  naturally  follows  that 
it  should  be  reduced  to  miles.  Therefore,  dividing  12,000  by  7^/2, 
the  number  of  stadia  to  the  Jewish  mile,  the  quotient  is  1,600,  and 
this  is  the  numerical  value  of  the  words  to  hcliakon  soma,  "the 
solar  body."  (The  number  1,600  is  found  also  in  xiv.  20,  where 
it  has  the  same  significance. )  In  the  authorized  version  the  prepo- 
sition epi,  "by,"  is  not  translated,  being  omitted  as  redundant — 
which  merely  shows  the  untrustworthiness  of  an  empirical  transla- 
tion. That  version  also  reads,  "a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  cu- 
bits, [according  to]  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel,"  the 
inserted  words  making  the  passage  meaningless.     The  "wall"  of 


254  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  solar  body  is  its  aura,  or  "radiance,"  he  doxa;  but  the  letters  of 
that  name  amount  to  only  143.  As  a  puzzle,  that  number  would 
be  too  transparent,  nor  would  it  harmonize  with  the  other  numbers 
given  in  relation  to  the  city,  as  the  twelve  thousand  stadia,  twelve 
gateways,  twelve  foundations,  etc.,  all  of  which  have  a  real  or  an 
apparent  reference  to  the  zodiac.  Therefore  loannes  increased  it 
to  144,  the  square  of  twelve,  by  adding  another  alpha,  which  he 
calls  "the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  a  Divinity."  In  the  for- 
mula, "I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  O  [mega'],  the  first  and  the  last," 
alpha  is  the  symbol  of  the  divine  man,  or  Divinity,  before  his  fall 
into  matter;  and  0  mega  is  the  symbol  of  the  perfected  man,  who 
has  passed  through  the  cycle  of  reincarnation  and  regained  the 
spiritual  consciousness. 

The  city  is  described  as  having  the  form  of  a  cube.  To  solve 
this  element  of  the  puzzle  it  is  only  necessary  to  unfold  the  cube, 
thereby  disclosing  a  cross,  which  represents  the  human  form — a 
man  with  outstretched  arms. 

Although  loannes  speaks  of  measuring  "the  city,  its  gateways, 
and  its  wall,"  he  does  not  give  the  measure  of  the  gateways,  for  the 
very  obvious  reason  that  it  is  wholly  unnecessary,  since  the  word 
"gateway"  {pylon,  from  pyle,  "an  orifice")  sufficiently  indicates 
their  nature :  they  are  the  twelve  orifices  of  the  body.  In  the  Upani- 
shads  the  human  body  is  often  called  poetically  the  twelve-gate  city 
of  God's  abode. 

In  literary  construction  the  Apocalypse  follows  to  some  extent 
the  conventional  model  of  the  Greek  drama :  although  in  narrative 
form,  it  divides  naturally  into  acts,  or  scenes,  in  each  of  which  the 
scenic  setting  is  vividly  pictured;  and  interspersed  with  the  action 
are  monologues,  dialogues,  and  choruses.  As  a  mere  literary  de- 
vice, these  scenes  are  represented  in  a  series  of  visions;  and  in  this 
loannes  has  adopted  the  style  of  the  Hebrew  seers,  from  whom  he 
obtained  much  of  the  quaint  symbolism,  ornate  imagery,  and  mys- 
tifying phraseology  he  artfully  employs.  But  with  the  material 
obtained  from  this  source  Idannes  has  skilfully  combined  symbols 
drawn  from  the  pagan  Greek  and  other  arcana,  weaving  these  ma- 


V 

8 

T 

300 

8 

4 

O 

70 

o 

70 

V 

8 

i 

60 

A 

30 

a 

1 

I 

10 

a 

I 

a 

1 

144 

K 

20 

o 

70 

V 

50 

a 

200 

"^ 

<a 

800 

M 

40 

a 

1 

600 


The  Cubical  City  Unfolded 


7.5)12,000  {Vt  araSiW 
1 ,600  tVt  fiiKidiv 


256  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

terials  into  a  harmonious  whole,  wonderfully  systematic  and  com- 
plete, and  having  all  the  details  worked  out  with  painstaking 
exactness.  Then,  having  thus  darkly  veiled  his  teachings  by  this 
symbolism,  utterly  baffling  to  the  conventional  symbologist,  he  has 
ingeniously  supplied  means  for  verifying  the  import  of  each  of  the 
principal  symbols,  and  this  he  accomplished  by  word-numbers  and 
other  puzzles. 

By  sentimental  literalists  the  Apocalypse  is  generally  accepted 
as  a  record  of  visions  actually  seen  by  "the  Seer  of  Patmos,"  al- 
though it  requires  but  little  discrimination  to  perceive  that  the 
visionary  style  is  merely  an  artifice  of  the  Apocalyptist,  adopted  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  the  fabulous  characters  of  his  drama 
and  mystifying  his  readers.  It  is  only  the  psychics,  the  mystai 
or  "veiled  ones,"  who  see  symbolical  visions.  The  true  seer,  the 
epoptcs,  beholds  the  things  of  nature  and  of  supranature  as  they 
really  arc,  and  not  as  they  seem:  perceiving  that  all  the  forms  and 
processes  of  external  nature  are  themselves  but  the  shadowy  symbols 
of  the  eternal  Ideas  of  the  intelligible  world,  he  passes  beyond  this 
fabric  of  material  and  psychic  glamour,  this  veil  by  which  the  True 
is  covered  and  concealed,  and  penetrates  to  the  first  principles  of 
things,  the  archetypal,  spiritual  realities. 

A  few  of  the  technical  words  employed  by  the  New  Testament 
writers  are  fraudulent  substitutes  for  terms  used  in  older  Greek. 
Thus  angelos,  "messenger,"  takes  the  place  of  the  word  daimon, 
Deity  in  manifestation,  including  the  hosts  of  lesser  deities,  powers 
and  essences.  Phil5n  Judaios  says  {De  Gigant.,  i.  253)  that  the 
beings  called  angels  in  the  Mosaic  writings  are  simply  the  daimones. 
As  the  anglicized  word  "angel"  summons  to  the  mind  only  the 
theological  and  popular  conception  of  a  celestial  being  whose  func- 
tion in  the  universe  is  undetermined  and  dubious,  angelos  will  in 
this  work  be  rendered  "Divinity,"  a  word  which  covers  in  range 
of  meanings  the  various  significations  of  the  Greek  W'Ord.  Simi- 
larly, apokalypsis,  literally,  "uncovering,"  "unveiling,"  is  a  substitute 
for  epoptcia,  "beholding,"  a  word  technically  denoting  initiation 
into  the  greater  mysteries.  The  Apocalypse  is,  as  its  title  implies, 
an  account  of  the  initiation  of  loannes  himself.     In  the  subtitle 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      257 

he  calls  it  "the  Initiation  of  Anointed  lesous,"  that  is,  of  his  own 
illumined  Nous,  the  "witness"  for  the  universal  Logos,  as  loannes 
in  the  material  world,  the  "slave"  (doiilos)  of  the  true  Self,  is  the 
"witness"  for  the  individual  Logos. 

Many  actors,  apparently,  play  their  parts  in  the  drama  of  the 
Apocalypse;  yet  in  reality  there  is  but  one  performer — the  neophyte 
himself,  the  sacrificial  "Lamb,"  who  awakens  all  the  slumbering 
forces  of  his  inner  nature,  passes  through  the  terrible  ordeals  of 
the  purificatory  discipline  and  the  telestic  labors,  and  finally  emerges 
as  the  Conqueror,  the  self-perfected  ]\Ian  who  has  regained  his 
standing  among  the  deathless  Gods.  He  is  the  hero  of,  and  the  sole 
actor  in,  the  drama ;  all  the  other  dramatis  pcrsonce  are  only  per- 
sonifications of  the  principles,  faculties,  forces,  and  elements  of 
Man,  that  minor  world  so  vast  and  mysterious,  whose  ultimate  des- 
tiny it  is  to  become  coextensive  with  the  divine  and  illimitable  uni- 
verse. 

In  the  brief  prologue  to  the  drama,  the  Anointed  lesous,  the 
illuminated  J\Iind,  is  depicted  as  the  first-born  from  the  dead  (the 
moribund  inner  faculties),  the  ruler  of  the  lower  powers,  yet  hav- 
ing been  crucified  by  them  on  the  cross  of  matter,  the  physical 
body.  Now%  at  his  coming,  they  who  wounded  him  shall  weep  and 
wail  over  him.  In  the  Nczu  Testament  allegory  there  are  two  cruci- 
fixions :  one  relating  to  the  soul's  descent  into  matter,  the  generation 
of  the  physical  form,  and  the  other  to  its  ascent  to  spirit,  or  regen- 
eration in  the  solar  body. 

Then,  "in  the  Breath,"  that  is,  in  samadhi,  the  sacred  trance, 
loannes  has  a  vision  of  the  Logos,  his  ow^n  spiritual  Self,  in  the 
self-luminous  pneumatic  body,  of  which  he  gives  a  magnificent  de- 
scription, partly  literal  and  partly  symbolical.  He  sees  him  walk- 
ing to  and  fro  among  seven  little  lamp-stands,  and  holding  in  his 
right  hand  seven  stars;  announcing  himself  to  be  the  ever-living 
Self,  who  became  "dead"  (incarnated),  but  is  now  alive  through- 
out the  aeons,  the  Logos  explains  that  the  lampstands  are  the  "seven 
Societies  in  Asia,"  and  the  seven  stars  their  Divinities.  That  is, 
they  represent  respectively  the  seven  Rays  of  the  Light  of  the 
Logos  (his  seven  forces),  and  the  seven  centres  or  chakras  in  the 


258  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

body,  through  which  they  energize.  Asia  is  the  native  land  of 
loannes,  therefore  typifying  the  body,  the  home-land  of  the  soul; 
and  the  seven  Societies  (groups  or  ganglia)  are  designated  by  the 
names  of  Asian  cities,  each  of  which,  by  some  well-known  charac- 
teristic or  something  for  which  it  was  noted,  calls  to  mind  the 
somatic  centre  it  represents.  These  cities  are  given  in  the  same 
order  in  the  Apocalypse  as  are  the  chakras  in  the  Upanishads,  thus: 
( I )  M  Iliad  Mr  a,  sacral  ganglion ;  Ephesos,  a  city  celel^rated  for  its 
great  temple  of  Diana,  the  "many-breasted  mother,"  who  appears 
in  the  Apocalypse  as  the  "Woman  clothed  with  the  Sun,  the  moon 
underneatli  her  feet,"  the  lunar  goddess  and  the  Apocalyptic  hero- 
ine alike  personifying  the  regenerative  force,  the  sushumna,  mys- 
tically called  the  "World-Mother."  (2)  Adhishthdna,  prostatic 
ganglion;  Smyrna,  noted  for  the  fig  industry;  the  fig  is  preemi- 
nently a  phallic  symbol.  (3)  Manipuraka,  epigastric  ganglion; 
Pergamos,  celebrated  for  its  temple  of  ^sculapius;  the  epigastric^ 
or  solar  plexus,  is  the  controlling  centre  of  the  vital  processes  of  tht 
body,  and  of  the  forces  utilized  in  all  systems  of  psychic  healing. 
(4)  Andhata,  cardiac  ganglion;  Thyateira,  a  city  noted  for  the 
manufacture  of  scarlet  dyes;  the  name  being  thus  a  covert  refer- 
ence to  the  blood  and  the  circulatory  system.  (5)  Visluiddhi,  laryn- 
geal ganglion ;  Sardeis,  a  name  which  suggests  the  sardion,  sardine 
or  carnelian,  a  flesh-colored  stone,  thus  alluding  to  the  laryngeal 
protuberance  vulgarly  termed  "Adam's  apple."  (6)  Ajhd,,  caver- 
nous ganglion  ;  Philadclpheia,  a  city  which  was  repeatedly  destroyed 
by  earthquakes;  the  manifestation  of  the  kundalim  at  this  sixth 
centre  is  especially  violent,  and  so  loannes  describes  the  opening  of 
the  sixth  seal  (niillddJidra,  which  brings  the  Ida  and  pingala  to  their 
culmination  at  this  centre)  as  being  accompanied  by  a  "great  earth- 
quake." (7)  Sahasrdra,  conarium,  or  pineal  body,  the  "third  eye"; 
Laodikeia,  noted  for  the  manufacture  of  the  so-called  "Phrygian 
powder,"  which  was  esteemed  a  sovereign  remedy  for  sore  and 
weak  eyes,  presumably  the  "eye-salve"  mentioned  by  Idannes  in  the 
message  to  this  seventh  Society. 

To  each  of  these  Societies  the  Logos  sends  a  message ;  and  in 
these  communications,  which  he  dictates  to  loannes,  the  nature  and 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      259 

function  of  each  centre  are  indicated :  a  particular  aspect  of  the 
Logos  is  presented  to  each  one,  a  good  and  a  bad  quahty  being 
ascribed  to  each  centre,  and  a  reward  or  prize  is  promised,  specify- 
ing the  spiritual  results  accruing  to  "the  Conqueror"  from  the  con- 
quest of  each  chakra. 

In  the  next  vision  is  shown  the  Logos  enthroned  in  the  sky,  with 
his  four  septenary  powers.  Here  Joannes  has  constructed  a  simple 
little  puzzle  by  employing  redundant  symbols  and  by  inverting  the 
order  of  the  forces,  enumerating  the  lesser  ones  first  and  the  greater 
ones  last.  He  places  twenty- four  Ancients  ("elders")  circling  the 
throne,  before  which  also  are  seven  Breaths  ("spirits")  and  a 
crystalline  sea;  after  which  he  describes  four  Zoa  ("living  crea- 
tures"), each  of  whom  has  six  wings.  Yet  he  makes  it  clearly 
apparent,  later,  that  the  Zoa  are  superior  to  the  Ancients  and  next 
in  rank  to  the  Logos.  In  fact,  the  four  Zoa  are  the  four  manifested 
Powers  of  the  Logos,  the  archetypes  of  the  four  "Beasts,"  whose 
nature,  as  the  regents  of  the  four  somatic  divisions,  has  already 
been  explained.  As  these  Zoa  are  septenates,  they  are  said  to  have 
six  wings  each.  These  wings  are  identical  with  the  twenty-four 
Ancients ;  and  the  seven  Breaths  before  the  throne  are  likewise 
identical  with  the  highest  septenate.  the  noetic  Zoon.  The  seemingly 
complicated  assemblage  thus  resolves  itself  simply  into  the  Nous 
centred  in  the  brain,  with  its  four  septenary  powers ;  and  the  "glassy 
sea"  is  the  ether  pulsating  in  the  mystic  "eye"  of  the  seer.  For  the 
"sky"  in  the  Apocalypse  is  not  the  "heaven"  of  the  profane,  the 
celestial  world  supposed  by  them  to  be  somewhere  in  the  far  depths 
of  space. 

The  four  Zoa  are  the  Lion,  the  Bull,  the  Man,  and  the  Eagle. 
These  symbols  represent  the  four  cardinal  signs  of  the  zodiac,  con- 
stituting the  so-called  cross  of  the  zodiac :  Leo,  Taurus,  Aquarius 
(Waterman),  and  Scorpio.  The  constellation  Aquila,  the  Eagle, 
though  extra-zodiacal,  rising  at  the  same  time  as  Scorpio,  is  fre- 
quently substituted  for  it.  The  word  zodiac  (codiakos)  is  derived 
from  sodion,  "a  little  animal."  a  diminutive  form  of  zoon,  "an 
animal."  Hence,  the  zodiacal  signs  being  called  zodia,  the  four 
principal  ones  are  the  zoa. 


26o 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


A  scroll  ("book")  is  the  next  symbol  introduced.  It  is  simply 
the  human  body,  esoterically  considered :  it  is  "written  inside  and  at 
the  back,"  referring  to  the  sympathetic  and  the  cerebro-spinal  sys- 
tems, and  "close  sealed  with  seven  seals,"  which  seals  are  the  seven 
major  chakras.  The  sacrificial  Lamb,  the  neophyte  who  has  attained 
to  the  intuitive,  noetic  consciousness — which  is  symbolized  by  his 
having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  that  is,  mental  powers  of  action 
and  perception — opens  the  seals  (arouses  the  chakras)  successively. 
As  they  are  opened,  however,  they  change  to  zodiacal  signs,  the 
zodiac  being  applied  to  the  microcosm,  man,  as  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram here  presented,  the  man  being  depicted  as  lying  in  a  circle, 
and  not  standing  upright  as  in  the  exoteric  zodiac.     The  seven 


The  Apocalyptic  Zodiac 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      261 

planets  are  assigned  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac  in  the  order 
followed  by  Porphyrios,  and,  in  fact,  by  all  ancient  and  modern 
authorities.  In  Sanskrit  works  the  planets  are  made  to  correspond 
also  to  the  seven  chakras  in  the  following  order,  beginning  with 
mfilddhara :  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  Mercury,  Moon,  and 
Sun.  According  to  this  zodiacal  scheme,  therefore,  seven  signs, 
with  their  planets,  extend  along  the  cerebro-spinal  region,  and  corre- 
spond to  the  seven  chakras,  which  are  the  focal  centres  of  the  tattvas, 
and  have  the  same  planets ;  while  the  remaining  signs  pertain  to  the 
five  pranas.  This  arrangement  is  shown  more  in  detail  in  the  table 
on  the  following  page. 

When  the  Lamb  opens  one  of  the  seals,  one  of  the  four  Zoa  thun- 
ders, "Come!"  A  white  horse  appears,  its  rider  having  a  bow. 
This  is  Sagittarius,  the  Bow^man  or  Archer.  Idannes  thus  starts 
the  kundalim  current  at  the  second  chakra,  and  correctly  so,  for  the 
sushmnnd  does  not  energize  until  Ida  and  pingala  have  reached  the 
forehead,  and  then  it  starts  from  the  first  centre,  corresponding  to 
the  terminus  of  the  spinal  cord.  He  therefore  avoids  calling  this 
the  first  seal,  but  says,  "one  of  the  seals,"  and  then  numbers  the 
others  merely  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  opened. 

The  second  seal  being  opened,  the  second  Zoon  says,  "Come !"  A 
red  horse  comes  forth  ;  to  its  rider  is  given  a  great  sword,  and  power 
to  take  away  peace  from  the  earth.  This  is  Scorpio,  the  house  of 
Mars,  the  War-God. 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  third  seal,  the  third  Zoon  says,  "Come!" 
A  black  horse  appears,  its  rider  having  a  balance  in  his  hand.  This 
is  Libra,  the  Balance. 

When  the  fourth  seal  is  opened,  the  fourth  Zoon  says,  "Come !" 
A  "pale"  {chloros,  "yellowish")  horse  comes  forth,  and  its  rider  is 
Death,  accompanied  by  Hades ;  they  are  given  power  over  one  quar- 
ter of  the  earth,  to  kill  with  sword,  famine  and  death,  and  by  the 
wild  beasts  of  the  earth.  This  is  Virgo,  the  astrological  sign  of  the 
womb.  In  the  New  Testament,  as  in  the  Upanishads  and  other 
mystical  literature,  "Death"  is  the  name  very  frequently  applied  to 
the  physical,  generative  world,  in  which  birth,  decay  and  death  hold 
sway.     In  her  character  of  the  bad  virgin,   "a  queen  and  not  a 


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INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      263 

widow,"  Virgo  appears  later  in  the  Apocalyptic  drama  in  the  role 
of  the  Woman  in  scarlet,  who  is  seated  on  the  red  Dragon,  the 
epithumetic  nature.  But  here  she  is  associated  with  a  higher  centre 
which  has  to  do  with  the  psychic  consciousness,  and  therefore 
Hades,  the  psychic  realm,  is  said  to  ride  with  Death ;  and  Ihe  evil 
thoughts,  desires  and  passions  of  the  psycho-physical  consciousness 
devastate  the  earth  to  the  extent  that  they  dominate. 

The  four  horses,  corresponding  to  the  four  Zoo,  as  also  to  the 
four  beasts,  are  the  four  somatic  divisions. 

The  fifth  seal  opened  is  the  cavernous  ganglion,  to  which  corre- 
sponds the  sign  Cancer.  Although  Leo  precedes  Cancer  in  the 
zodiac,  its  corresponding  chokra,  the  conarium,  is  the  last  of  the 
centres  to  be  aroused ;  for  idd  and  pingalo.  branch  out  to  right  and 
left  at  the  forehead,  and  it  is  only  the  susJuimnd,  starting  at  the 
sacral  ganglion,  that  reaches  the  conarium.  Yet  the  influence  of 
the  two  currents,  at  this  stage,  causes  a  partial  awakening  of  the 
lower  centres  in  the  brain ;  and  this  is  stated  by  loannes  in  an 
ingenious  little  allegory  about  the  uneasy  ghosts  ("souls")  of  those 
who  had  been  sacrificed  (atrophied,  that  is)  because  of  the  evidence 
they  held.  For  it  is  by  the  atrophy  of  these  noetic  centres  that  man 
has  lost  the  evidence  of  spiritual  realities. 

The  sixth  seal  opened  is  the  sacral  plexus,  to  which  corresponds 
the  sigTi  Capricornus.  When  this  chakra  is  awakened,  the  sushunind 
passes  along  the  spinal  cord  and  impinges  upon  the  brain.  Words 
can  not  adequately  describe  the  sensations  of  the  neophyte  upon  his 
first  experience  of  the  efifects  produced  by  this  mighty  power :  it  is  as 
if  the  earth  crumbled  instantly  to  nothingness,  and  sun,  moon  and 
stars  were  swept  from  the  sky,  so  that  he  suddenly  found  himself 
to  be  but  an  unbodied  soul  alone  in  the  black  abyss  of  empty  space, 
struggling  against  dread  and  terror  unutterable.  Thus  loannes 
vividly  pictures  it,  in  terms  of  cosmic  phenomena,  as  a  seismic  cata- 
clysm, seemingly  the  end  of  the  world.  To  the  neophyte  unprepared 
for  this  ordeal,  failure  may  mean  merely  a  short  period  of  blank 
unconsciousness,  or  it  may  mean  instant  death — for  this  vital  elec- 
tricity has  all  the  destructiveness,  when  misdirected,  of  the  thunder- 
bolt.   The  sixth  centre,  djnd,  is  the  great  "lunar"  chakra,  where  the 


264  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

currents  bifurcate;  and  at  this  point  the  resurgent  "solar"  forces, 
the  prdnas,  form  a  cross  in  the  brain.  These  solar  forces  loannes 
pictures  as  five  Divinities,  of  whom  four  stand  at  the  corners  of  the 
earth,  presiding  over  the  four  winds,  and  a  dominant  Divinity,  the 
fifth,  bearing  the  signet-ring  of  the  living  God,  ascends  from  the 
fifth  direction  of  space,  "the  birthplace  of  the  sun"— quite  natu- 
rally, since  he  is  in  fact  an  aspect  of  that  "Sun,"  the  Nous.  With 
his  signet-ring  he  seals  144,000  out  of  the  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  The  twelve  tribes  are  simply  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs,  sym- 
bolizing the  twelve  forces  of  the  Logos,  which  differentiate  into 
countless  minor  forces.  These,  in  the  microcosm,  are  the  nadis  of 
the  Upanishads,  which  enumerate  variously  the  nadis  centring  in 
the  brain,  but  usually  place  the  number  at  72,000.  loannes,  how- 
ever, holds  to  the  zodiacal  scheme  :  as  each  of  the  signs  of  the  zodiac 
is  subdivided  into  twelve  minor  signs,  he  multiplies  these  by  1,000 
— a  number  often  used  in  mystical  writings  to  express  an  indefinite 
term— and  so  arrives  at  a  total  of  144,000,  or  double  the  72,000  of 
the  Upanishads;  but  according  to  the  latter  the  nadts  are  innumer- 
able in  their  ramifications. 

After  this  is  seen  a  great  multitude,  from  all  nations  and  peoples 
of  all  languages,  white-robed  and  pure,  who  wave  palm-branches 
and  sing  a  psean  before  the  throne ;  they  are  said  to  be  those  "com- 
ing out  of  the  great  ordeal."  This  "great  ordeal"  is  reincarnation, 
the  vast  misery  of  being  bound  for  ages  to  the  wheel  of  birth.  But 
this  concourse  of  the  "redeemed"  who  sing  the  chorus  in  this  scene 
are  the  liberated  elements  in  the  aspirant's  own  nature ;  they  are  not 
a  throng  of  people  exterior  to  him.  By  evoking  the  marvellous 
potencies  of  his  spiritual  selfhood  the  Conqueror  thereby  regermi- 
nates  all  that  was  good,  beautiful  and  true  in  each  of  his  past 
incarnations. 

The  seventh  seal  is  the  conarium,  its  zodiacal  correspondence 
being  Leo,  which  is  the  house  of  the  Sun.  Here  reigns  the  Silence 
from  which  issue  the  seven  spiritual  "voices,"  or  sounds.  These 
mystic  sounds  loannes  describes  figuratively  as  trumpet-calls  given 
successively  by  seven  Divinities.  They  become  audible  when  the 
chakras  in  the  brain  are  awakened.     The  first  four  have  a  relation 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      265 

to  the  four  somatic  divisions,  and  react  upon  them;  hence  loannes 
ascribes  to  the  trumpet-calls  an  obscuring  or  destructive  effect  upon 
the  earth,  the  sea,  the  rivers  and  springs,  and  the  sky,  which  corre- 
spond to  the  somatic  divisions.  At  this  stage  of  the  telestic  medi- 
tation the  physical  body  is  already  in  a  state  of  trance,  and  it  is  now 
the  lower  psychic  consciousness  that  is  to  be  temporarily  paralyzed 
or  placed  in  abeyance;  so,  leaving  the  physical  consciousness  out  of 
the  reckoning,  loannes  terms  the  psychic  the  "third"  as  applied  to 
each  of  the  four  planes,  to  which  correspond  the  first  four  trumpet- 
calls.  The  results  produced  by  the  three  remaining  trumpet-calls  he 
terms  "woes,"  since  they  entail  very  trying  ordeals,  the  issue  of 
w^hich  is  certain  failure  to  the  unpurified  neophyte,  of  whom  it  has 
been  said :  "His  vices  will  take  shape  and  drag  him  down.  His  sins 
will  raise  their  voices  like  as  the  jackals  laugh  and  sob  after  the  sun 
goes  down ;  his  thoughts  become  an  army  and  bear  him  off  a  captive 
slave."  Thus,  at  the  fifth  trumpet-call  appears  "a  star  fallen  from 
the  sky  to  the  earth,"  who  is  the  "Divinity  of  the  abyss"  and  has 
the  key  to  its  crater,  or  opening,  and  whose  name  is  ApoUyon,  "he 
who  utterly  destroys,"  the  "Murderer";  he  opens  the  crater  of  the 
abyss,  and  from  it  emerges  a  locust-swarm  of  centaurs,  who  with 
their  scorpion-like  tails  inflict  torments  on  men.  This  "star"  is 
Lucifer,  the  fallen  "son  of  the  morning,"  the  debased  psychic  mind 
of  man,  which  is  indeed  the  ruler  over  the  abysmal  depths  of  desire, 
the  bottomless  pit  of  the  passional  nature,  and  the  "murderer"  truly 
of  all  that  is  pure,  beautiful  and  true.  This  fifth  trumpet-call  refers 
to  the  carnal  mind  energizing  in  the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  the 
seat  of  the  epithumetic  consciousness,  "the  throne  of  the  Beast" ; 
and  the  next  trumpet-call,  the  sixth,  bears  relation  to  the  cerebro- 
spinal axis,  the  Apocalyptic  "river  Euphrates,"  and  to  what  may  be 
termed  the  psycho-religious  consciousness,  which  manifests  itself 
in  the  emotional  worship  of  the  unreal  mental  images  of  Deity  — 
the  lower  phase  of  religion  that  indulges  in  irrational  theologies, 
superstition,  sorcery,  fanaticism  and  persecution.  The  neophyte 
who  has  not  thoroughly  freed  his  mind  from  these  pseudo-religious 
illusions  will  inevitably  fail  in  the  mystic  meditation,  which  requires 
that  all  thought-images  and  preconceptions  must  be  erased  from  the 


266  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

mind,  so  as  to  present  it  as  a  clean  tablet  for  the  inscription  of  truth. 
After  this  sixth  trumpet-call,  the  four  Divinities  fettered  at  the  river 
Euphrates  are  loosed  :  they  are  the  four  manifested  pranas,  the  solar 
regents  of  the  seasons,  ruling  the  quaternary  divisions  of  the  year, 
month,  day  and  hour.  The  liberation  of  these  forces  is  followed 
by  the  appearance  upon  the  scene  of  an  army  of  warriors  mounted 
on  lion-headed,  serpent-tailed  horses,  who  represent  the  countless 
powers  of  the  Nous.  A  "strong"  Divinity,  the  fifth,  then  descends 
from  the  sky,  enveloped  in  a  cloud,  with  a  rainbow  about  his  head; 
his  face  is  luminous  like  the  sun,  and  his  feet  resemble  pillars  of 
fire.  This  description  of  him  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Logos; 
he  is  tiddna,  the  unmanifested  divine  power  that  is  the  revealer  of 
secret  truths.  The  strong  Divinity  cries  out  with  a  lion-like  roar, 
and  seven  thunders  utter  their  voices.  Concerning  the  utterances 
of  these  seven  thunders  loannes  is  very  reticent.  However,  as  the 
Greek  language  has  but  the  one  word  {phone)  for  both  "voice"  and 
"vowel,"  the  meaning  obviously  is  that  the  "great  voice"  of  the 
Logos,  who  is  the  seven  vowels  in  one,  is  echoed  by  the  seven 
vowels,  the  sounds  by  which  the  higher  forces  are  evoked ;  and 
these  the  seer  is  forbidden  to  write  down.  At  this  stage  of  the 
sacred  trance  the  neophyte,  having  attained  to  the  noetic  conscious- 
ness, begins  to  receive  the  mystery-teachings,  the  "sacred,  unspeak- 
able words"  (appr)Ta  pTJjxaTa)  which,  as  Paulos  says,  it  is  not 
lawful  for  a  man  to  disclose.  When  he  shall  have  mastered  the 
next  noetic  centre,  the  "third  eye"  of  the  seer,  he  shall  pass  beyond 
the  illusions  of  time ;  "time  shall  be  no  more,"  and  "the  God-mystery 
shall  be  perfected."  The  Divinity  gives  a  little  scroll  (booklet)  to 
loannes,  who  eats  it ;  and  though  honey-sweet  in  his  mouth,  it  makes 
his  belly  bitter.  The  scroll  symbolizes  the  esoteric  instructions  he 
has  received,  which  are  indeed  bitter  to  the  lower  man,  for  they 
inculcate  the  utter  extirpation  of  the  epithumetic  nature.  He  is  then 
told  that  he  must  become  a  teacher,  opposing  the  exoteric  beliefs  of 
the  masses. 

By  a  side-scene,  a  parenthetical  explanation  is  given  of  the 
adytum,  or  shrine  of  the  God,  and  the  "two  witnesses"  of  the 
"strong"  Divinity,  the  Nous.    The  adytum— the  temple-cell  or  fane 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      267 

in  which  the  God  is  enthroned— is  the  seventh  of  the  noetic  centres ; 
and  the  two  witnesses  are  tda  and  pin  gala,  the  sushiimna  being  the 
third  witness,  "the  behevable  and  true." 

When  the  seventh  trumpet-call  is  sounded,  there  is  a  choral  an- 
nouncement that  the  God,  the  true  Self,  has  come  to  his  own  and 
will  reign  throughout  the  aeons.  The  adytum  is  opened,  disclosing 
the  ark,  the  mystic  receptacle  in  which  were  placed  the  "tablets" 
whereon  was  inscribed  the  contract  of  the  God  with  man.  There- 
upon appears  the  Woman  clothed  with  the  Sun,  star-crowned  and 
standing  on  the  moon;  travailing,  she  gives  birth  to  a  man-child. 
She  symbolizes  the  Light  of  the  Logos,  the  World-Mother,  that  is, 
the  pristine  force-substance  from  which  is  moulded  the  solar  body 
—her  "man-child."  The  red  Dragon,  the  epithumetic  nature,  seeks 
to  devour  her  child ;  but  it  is  caught  up  to  the  God's  throne,  and  the 
Woman  flees  to  the  desert,  where  she  is  nourished  three  and  a  half 
years.  This  means  that  after  the  formation  of  the  solar  body  has 
begun,  any  strong  passion  or  emotion  may  disintegrate  and  destroy 
it;  and  that  during  the  first  half  of  the  cycle  of  initiation  (here 
placed  at  seven  years)  the  nascent  body  remains  in  the  spiritual 
world,  as  it  were,  while  the  siishiimnd  force  abides  in  its  "place"  in 
the  material  form,  or  "desert."  For,  strictly  speaking,  the  solar 
body  is  not  really  born  at  this  stage,  but  only  has  its  inception.  In 
the  allegory,  however,  loannes  could  hardly  employ  the  more  accu- 
rate but  less  delicate  mystery-representation  of  the  Eleusinia. 

Here  the  sacred  trance  ends  for  the  present ;  and  next  follows  a 
battle  in  the  sky.  The  Dragon  and  his  Divinities  are  hurled  down 
from  the  sky  by  Michael  and  his  hosts;  that  is,  the  mind  is  now 
purified  from  the  taint  of  impure  thoughts.  Michael  and  his  fellow 
Chief-Divinities  (archangeloi) ,  Uriel,  Raphael.  Gabriel,  etc.,  of 
whom  he  alone  is  named  in  the  Apocalypse,  are  the  Regents  of  the 
seven  sacred  planets,  he  himself  being  Hermes,  the  Guide  of  Souls 
and  Initiator  in  the  Mysteries.  But  the  Dragon,  though  ejected  from 
the  intellectual  nature,  continues  his  persecutions  on  the  lower  plane. 

The  Beast,  the  phrenic  nature,  is  described  next.  One  of  his 
seven  heads  (the  seven  dominant  desires)  has  been  slain,  but  comes 
to  life;  it  represents  the  desire  for  sentient  existence,  the  principle 


268  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

which  causes  the  soul  to  reincarnate.  This  zi'ill  to  hve,  this  pas- 
sionate clinging  to  sensuous  life,  is  expatiated  on  by  Plato.  Al- 
though the  aspirant  has  apparently  extirpated  this  longing,  so  far 
as  the  grosser  affairs  of  the  material  world  are  concerned,  it  revives 
when  he  enters  into  the  subtler  planes  of  consciousness  and  per- 
ceives the  psychic  realms  of  existence.  In  Buddhistic  literature  it 
is  termed  tanJia  (the  trishna  of  Sanskrit  philosophical  works)  ;  and 
in  one  ritual  it  is  said:  "Kill  love  of  life;  but  if  thou  slayest  tanha, 
take  heed  lest  from  the  dead  it  rise  again."  Because  this  principle 
keeps  man  under  the  sway  of  reincarnation,  loannes  says  signifi- 
cantly: "If  any  one  leads  into  captivity,  into  captivity  he  goes;  if 
any  one  shall  kill  with  the  sword,  with  the  sword  must  he  be  killed." 

Another  beast  appears,  who  is  the  symbol  of  the  generative  prin- 
ciple. He  participates  in  the  nature  of  each  of  the  other  beasts,  for 
he  has  two  horns  like  the  Lamb,  talks  like  the  Dragon,  and  has  the 
magical  powers  of  the  Beast.  He  is  called  the  Pseudo-Seer.  His 
false  seership  is  a  certain  very  low  form  of  psychism  which,  though 
not  necessarily  sensual,  is  due  to  the  generative  nervous  ether. 
From  this  source  come  most  of  the  "visions"  of  religious  ecstatics, 
and  the  material  manifestations  produced  by  some  spiritist 
mediums;  and,  in  a  more  general  way,  it  is  the  source  of  the 
emotional  element  in  exoteric  religion,  or  so-called  religious  fervor, 
which  is  in  reality  but  a  subtle  sort  of  eroticism.  As  a  blind  emo- 
tional impulse  to  worship,  it  stimulates  the  lower  mind,  the  phren, 
or  Beast,  to  project  an  image  of  itself  upon  the  mental  screen  and 
to  worship  that  illusionary  concept ;  and  this — the  "image  of  the 
Beast"  —  is  the  anthropomorphic  God  of  exoteric  religion. 

Next  appears  again  the  Lamb,  who  by  strict  classification  is  one 
of  the  four  beasts,  though  really  too  exalted  to  have  that  title 
applied  to  him,  since  he  is  the  Nous,  the  regent  of  the  highest  of  the 
four  somatic  divisions.  With  him  are  his  many  virginal  attendants, 
who,  as  a  prelude  to  the  next  act  of  the  drama,  chant  a  new  paean, 
to  the  accompaniment  of  many  lyres.  The  neophyte  has  now  be- 
come, as  it  were,  like  a  lyre,  with  all  the  loose  strings  of  his  psychic 
nature  tightened  and  tuned,  tense  and  vibrant  to  the  touch  of  his 
true  Self. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      269 

The  conquest  of  the  cardiac  centres  is  presented  as  a  harvest 
scene,  in  which  seven  Divinities  play  their  parts.  Here,  again,  four 
of  the  septenate  are  related  to  the  four  somatic  divisions.  The  fifth 
Divinity  is  "like  the  son  of  man,"  and  with  a  sickle  he  reaps  the 
"dried  up"  harvest  of  the  earth.  He  is  the  Logos,  or  spiritual  Self, 
which  assimilates  the  higher  aspirations  and  idealizing  of  the 
psychic  nature— a  harvest  that  is,  usually,  by  no  means  abundant. 
The  sixth  Divinity,  who  comes  out  of  the  God's  adytum,  reaps  the 
vine  of  the  earth,  and  casts  the  ripe  grapes  into  the  great  wine-vat 
of  the  God's  ardor  (tJiumos),  and  when  the  vat  is  trodden,  outside 
the  city,  not  wine  but  blood  comes  out,  "up  to  the  bridles  of  the 
horses,  as  far  as  1,600  stadia."  Now,  while  this  sixth  Divinity 
represents  the  Nous  as  intellect,  the  fifth  Divinity  reflects  the  aspect 
of  the  Logos  as  Eros,  or  Divine  Desire.  The  vine  of  the  earth  may 
be  considered  to  be  that  vine  of  the  purely  human  emotional  nature. 
or  feeling,  whose  tendrils  are  love,  sympathy  and  devotion,  and 
whose  fruitage  yields  the  wine  of  spiritual  exaltation ;  but  in  the 
technical  esoteric  meaning  the  vine  consists  of  the  force-currents 
which  correspond  to  the  cerebro-spinal  nervous  system ;  while  the 
great  wine-vat  of  the  God's  ardor,  outside  the  city  (the  physical 
body),  is  the  auric  ovum,  which  becomes  suffused  with  an  orange 
or  golden  color  through  the  action  of  these  currents  in  the  cardiac 
centres.  The  horses  are  the  four  somatic  divisions,  and  the  number 
1,600  is  that  of  to  hcliakon  soma,  the  solar  body:  the  cardiac  forces 
pervade  and  color  the  aura,  imparting  to  it  a  golden  hue,  returning 
through  the  chakras,  and  circulating  through  the  solar  body — a 
process  analogous  to  the  nutrition  of  the  foetus,  the  solar  body  being, 
as  it  were,  in  a  fcetal  state.  Thus  the  Woman  is  nourished  in  the 
desert,  weaving  for  the  soul  its  immortal  and  glorified  robe. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  word  thumos  is  here  rendered  "ardor." 
The  learned  revisers  of  the  "authorized"  version  translate  it 
"wrath,"  making  it  a  synonym  of  orge,  but  changing  to  "fierceness" 
when,  as  in  two  instances,  loannes  has  the  two  words  so  conjoined 
that  the  result  of  their  theory,  if  carried  out,  would  be  the  impos- 
sible expression  "wrath  of  his  wTath,"  which  is,  however,  but  little 
worse  than  one  that  is  actually  used,  "the  wrath  of  her  fornication." 


270  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

But  the  word  has  not  that  meaning  in  the  Platonic  philosophy,  or 
in  that  of  the  Apocalypse,  which  is  practically  identical  with  it.  Plato 
makes  thumus  the  energizing  principle  of  the  soul,  intermediate 
between  the  rational  nature  {to  logistikun)  and  the  irrational  (to 
epithumciikon),  and  he  explains  that  it  is  not  a  kind  of  desire,  "for 
in  the  conflict  of  the  soul  thumos  is  arrayed  on  the  side  of  the  ra- 
tional principle."  It  is  a  complex  of  emotions  qualified  hy  compre- 
hensive ideas,  as  veracity,  honor,  pride,  sympathy,  affection,  etc., 
and  not  at  all  an  ordinary  impulse  of  resentment.  In  Apocalyptic 
usage,  thumos  is  likewise  an  energizing,  creative  principle ;  but 
whereas  Plato,  writing  works  of  the  more  popular  sort,  confined 
himself  to  a  threefold  system  and  wrote  with  caution,  loannes, 
using  the  medium  of  symbol  and  allegory,  unintelligible  to  the 
profane,  divulges  the  full  fourfold  system;  he  puts  phrcn  as  the 
intermediate  principle  between  the  psychic  and  the  noetic  nature, 
and  elevates  Ihuiiios  to  be  the  energizing  principle  of  the  latter.  It 
thus  corresponds  to  Eros,  the  Divine  Love,  whose  inverted  reflection 
in  the  animal  nature  is  Eros,  the  love-god,  or  lust.  With  these  two 
Erotes  of  Grecian  mythology  he  gives  also  its  two  Aphrodites,  pic- 
turing them  as  the  supernal  virgin  clothed  with  the  sun  and  the 
infernal  prostitute  arrayed  in  scarlet,  the  two  symbolizing  respec- 
tively divine  regeneration  and  human  generation.  Xow.  again,  the 
word  orgc,  although  signifying  colloquially  and  in  ordinary  litera- 
ture any  violent  passion,  as  anger  and  the  like,  has  a  more  technical 
meaning  in  the  terminology  of  the  Mysteries,  where  it  signifies  the 
fecundating  power  or  parturient  energy  in  nature.  The  word  is 
derived  from  opyav,  "to  swell  (with  internal  moisture),"  as  do 
plants  and  fruit  from  their  sap,  "to  teem,"  "to  swell  (with  pas- 
sion)"; and  from  the  same  root  comes  orgia,  the  Mystery-rites 
practised  in  the  worship  of  Bakchos. 

Next  follows  the  conquest  of  the  generative  centres.  After  a 
psean  chanted  by  the  conquerors  of  the  Beast,  seven  Divinities 
emerge  from  the  adytum.  They  are  more  majestic  and  more  splen- 
didly arrayed  than  the  three  septenates  who  have  preceded  them, 
and  their  part  is  to  finish  the  regenerative  work.  One  of  the  four 
Zoa  gives  them  seven  golden  saucers  (phiolai,  shallow  libation-cups) 


IXTRODUCTIOX  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      271 

containing  the  formative  force  of  the  Logos,  "the  thiimos  of  the 
God."  \\'^hat  ensues  upon  the  outpouring  of  the  creative  potency 
is  the  eradication  of  the  procreative  centres — leaving  thereafter  but 
three  somatic  divisions — and  the  ehmination  from  the  other  centres 
of  every  remaining  vestige  of  psychic  impurity.  The  first  four 
Divinities  act  successively  upon  the  four  somatic  divisions.  The 
first  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  upon  the  earth,  producing  a 
painful  sore  on  the  men  who  had  the  brand  of  the  Beast  and  wor- 
shipped his  image.  The  force  under  the  stimulus  of  which  the 
lower  psychic  nature  engendered  pseudo-devotional  illusions,  irra- 
tional sentiments  and  emotions,  and  erroneous  notions  or  concepts, 
now  becomes  the  destroyer  of  these  delusions,  and  of  the  psychic 
centres  to  which  they  are  due. 

The  second  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  into  the  sea ;  it  becomes 
as  blood,  and  all  creatures  in  it  die.  Every  vestige  of  passion  and 
desire  is  eliminated. 

The  third  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  into  the  rivers  and 
springs,  and  they  become  blood.  This  is  the  somatic  division  of 
which  the  regent  is  the  Beast,  or  phrenic  mind,  in  which  is  centred 
the  consciousness  of  the  profane,  the  polloi  who  have  persecuted 
and  put  to  death  many  spiritual  teachers  and  reformers.  Here, 
again,  Idannes  indulges  in  sarcasm;  for  he  makes  the  Divinity  of 
the  waters  (the  Nous  as  presiding  over  this  plane)  say  of  the  pro- 
fane, "They  poured  out  the  blood  of  devotees  and  seers,  and  blood 
thou  hast  given  them  to  drink,  for  they  are  worthy,"  a  parono- 
mastic  use  of  the  word  axios,  ''deserving"  and  also  "highly  respecta- 
ble." However,  when  the  "blood  of  the  Logos"  suffuses  the  mystic 
centres  of  the  heart  "the  knowledge  from  below"  ceases  to  vaunt 
itself,  and  is  replaced  by  "the  wisdom  from  above." 

The  fourth  Di\inity  pours  out  his  saucer  upon  the  sun,  and  it 
radiates  scorching  heat — alluding  to  the  intense  activity  of  the  brain 
at  this  stage. 

The  fifth  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  upon  the  throne  of  the 
Beast,  whose  realm  is  thereby  darkened,  and  whose  subjects  are 
afflicted  with  pains  and  sores.  The  Beast's  throne  is  the  great 
sympathetic  nervous  system,  so  that  his  realm  extends  over  practi- 


272  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

cally  all  the  so-called  involuntary  physical  and  psychic  functions; 
but,  now  that  the  four  somatic  divisions  have  been  purified,  the 
Beast  is  deposed,  and  henceforth  the  Nous  is  to  reign  supreme. 

The  sixth  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  upon  the  Euphrates,  and 
its  waters  are  dried  up  to  prepare  the  path  for  the  rulers  who  come 
from  the  source  of  the  sun.  These  arc  the  five  "solar"  Divinities 
who  were  erstwhile  unfettered  at  the  river  Euphrates,  the  cerebro- 
spinal system.  All  the  irredeemable  elements  of  the  man's  lower 
self  are  now  expelled,  and  they  become  a  sort  of  entity  external  to 
him:  as  when,  after  the  death  of  the  physical  body,  all  the  evil 
psychic  elements  which  are  rejected  by  the  soul  before  it  enters  the 
spiritual  realm  survive  in  the  phantasmal  world  as  a  simulacrum, 
shade,  or  ghost  of  the  dead  personality,  so  upon  the  spiritual  rebirth 
of  a  man — which  connotes  the  death  of  his  carnal  nature,  thoujrh 
tlic  i)urified  physical  body  continues  to  live  out  its  allotted  span — 
these  expelled  elements  take  shape  in  that  same  phantasmal  world, 
or  Tartarus,  and  remain  there  as  a  congeries  of  evil  forces  and 
impure  elements,  forming  a  malignant  demon,  which  has  no  ani- 
mating principle  save  hatred  and  lust,  and  is  doomed  to  disintegrate 
in  the  cosmic  elements.  Thus  loannes  describes  this  gruesome  thing 
in  his  allegory:  he  sees  issuing  from  the  mouths  of  the  Dragon,  the 
Beast  and  the  Pseudo-Seer  three  unclean  spirits,  resembling  frogs, 
who  are  "spirits  of  demons,"  and  who  collect  all  the  evil  forces  and 
muster  them  for  the  last  great  battle  upon  the  advent  of  the  God. 

The  seventh  Divinity  pours  out  his  saucer  into  the  air  (the 
aureola),  and  the  enthroned  God  announces,  "He  has  been  boni" 
(gegone).  The  authorized  version  gives  the  strained  empirical 
translation,  "It  is  done."  But  gig)icstJiai  means  "to  be  born,"  "to 
become,"  and  is  often  used  in  the  A^czu  Testament  in  the  former 
sense,  as  in  Galafiaus  iv.  4,  "born  of  woman."  If  used  to  convey 
the  meaning  "It  is  done,"  it  would  be  dubious  Greek ;  but  here 
loannes  is  speaking  quite  openly  of  the  new  birth.  In  the  Fourth 
Evangel,  where  the  new  birth  is  allegorically  depicted  as  the  cruci- 
fixion, the  ultimate  utterance  is  given  as  tetelestai,  "It  has  been  fin- 
ished," referring  to  the  initiation-rite,  or  "finishing"  {telos),  and 
conveying  the  esoteric  meaning  "He  has  initiated  (perfected)  him- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      2-ji 

self."  The  spiritual  birth  is,  in  the  Apocalyptic  drama,  accompanied 
by  a  general  upheaval  and  readjustment :  the  great  city,  Babyldn 
(the  physical  body),  becomes  three-divisional;  the  cities  of  the 
people  (the  procreative  centres)  are  overthrown;  and  great  hail 
(the  condensation  psychically  of  the  auric  substance)  falls. 

In  the  main  action  of  the  drama  it  is  now  that  the  Conqueror, 
the  new-born  Initiate,  appears  on  his  white  horse ;  but  the  sequence 
of  events  is  interrupted  by  a  side-scene,  which  amounts  to  a  paren- 
thetical dissertation  on  the  mysteries  of  physical  existence  and  the 
epithumetic  principle,  symbolized  by  the  Woman  in  scarlet  and  the 
fiery  red  Dragon.  The  Woman  stands  for  Babylon,  the  physical 
body,  and,  in  a  more  general  sense,  incarnate  existence.  She  sits  on 
the  "many  waters,"  the  great  psychic  sea  of  sensuous  life,  and  is 
likewise  sitting  on  the  Dragon — for  he  represents  microcosmically 
the  same  principle  that  the  sea  does  macrocosmically.  The  Dragon 
who  sustains  the  \\'oman  ivas,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is;  for  he  is  the 
glamour  of  sensuous  life,  the  deceptive  phenomena  of  which  ever 
appear  to  be  that  which  they  are  not.  His  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains  where  the  Woman  is  sitting  on  them ;  that  is,  the  seven 
cardinal  desires  energize  through  the  seven  chakras  of  the  physical 
body  during  incarnation.  It  is  then  explained  that  there  are  seven 
rulers  (kings),  of  whom  five  have  perished,  one  is,  and  the  other 
has  not  yet  come,  and  when  he  comes  he  must  abide  a  little  while. 
The  cycle  of  initiation  extends  through  seven  incarnations,  which 
are  not.  however,  necessarily  consecutive;  of  these  the  Apocalvptic 
initiate  is  represented  as  having  passed  through  five,  and  being  now 
in  the  sixth ;  and  in  the  seventh  he  will  attain  final  emancipation. 
They  are  called  kings  because  the  only  incarnations  counted  are 
those  in  which  the  aspirant  is  veritably  the  ruler  of  his  lower  facul- 
ties and  propensities.  The  Dragon  himself  is  an  eighth,  a  sort  of 
by-product  of  the  seven,  and  he  goes  to  destruction ;  for  he  is  the 
phantom  which  forms  after  the  final  purification,  and  his  fate  is  to 
disintegrate  in  the  nether-world.  His  ten  horns,  or  five  pairs  of 
horns,  are  the  five  pranas,  each  of  which  is  both  positive  and  nega- 
tive. They  are  solar  forces,  the  correspondences  on  the  lowest 
plane  of  the  Xous  and  the  four  Zoa,  the  regents  of  the  four  regions 


274  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  space  and  the  four  divisions  of  time;  but  here,  in  the  sphere  of 
animal  vitahty,  they  energize  the  desires  and  passions.  Thus  they 
"have  one  purpose,"  and  confer  their  power  upon  the  Dragon,  and 
rule  with  him  each  for  one  hour.  They  are  the  forces  which  in  the 
innocent  child  produce  its  exuberant  vitality  and  exquisite  vivacity, 
but  which  in  the  individual  who  yields  to  the  dictates  of  passion 
become  wofully  destructive ;  hence  they  are  said  to  devour  the  flesh 
of  the  Woman  in  scarlet  and  consume  her  with  fire. 

Then  comes  a  series  of  proclamations,  exhortations  and  lamen- 
tations relating  to  the  downfall  of  Babylon,  the  scarlet  prostitute, 
who  is  the  bad  Virgo,  the  terrestrial  Aphrodite,  all  of  which  applies 
to  the  complete  subjugation  of  the  physical  body  and  its  forces,  and 
to  liberation  from  the  bondage  of  physical  life.  There  are  two 
"falls"  in  the  allegory,  paralleling  the  two  crucifixions. 

After  this  long  but  necessary  digression,  the  action  of  the  drama 
is  resumed :  the  Conqueror  appears,  mounted  on  a  white  horse ;  "he 
treads  the  wine-vat  of  the  ardor  of  the  God's  fecundating  energy" ; 
his  mantle  is  blood-hued,  and  upon  it  and  upon  his  thigh  is  inscribed 
his  title  of  supreme  ruler.  The  word  "thigh"  (mcros)  is  euphe- 
mistic; the  phaJlos,  mcmhrum  virile,  is  intended.  This  particular 
euphemism  is  common  in  the  Old  Testament  {Genesis  xxiv.  2,  et 
passim).  Moreover,  it  will  be  noticed  that  here  the  Conqueror  has 
the  sword  of  Mars,  and  is  riding  the  w'hite  horse  of  the  Archer  who, 
at  the  opening  of  the  first  seal,  the  adhishthdna  chakra,  "came  forth 
conquering  and  to  keep  on  conquering."  Thus  the  incarnated  Logos 
is  shown  to  bear  a  direct  relation  to  the  lowest  centres.  Now,  it 
would  be  utterly  impossible  to  elucidate  the  Apocalypse  and  ignore 
this  delicate  but  perfectly  pure  subject,  concerning  which  even  the 
most  communicative  expositors  of  the  esoteric  philosophy  have  been 
extremely  reticent ;  and  so  the  present  writer,  being  opposed  to  all 
undue  secrecy,  and  believing  that  in  this  matter  harm  has  resulted 
from  the  suppression  of  the  truth,  feels  justified  in  dealing  with 
the  subject  frankly  and  without  constraint,  though  with  necessary 
brevity.  As  every  practical  "pyrotechnist"  knows,  the  human  brain 
contains  certain  centres  or  components,  including  the  pituitary  body 
and  the  conarium,  the  higher  functions  of  which  are  almost  com- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      275 

pletely  dormant  in  the  normal  individuals  of  the  present  races  of 
mankind,  who  are  therefore  termed  in  the  New  Testament  and 
other  esoteric  writings  "the  dead" ;  yet  it  is  only  through  these 
organs  of  the  brain  that  the  spiritual  Self  of  man,  his  overshadow- 
ing God,  can  act  upon  the  consciousness  of  the  psycho-intellectual 
self.  This  corpse-like  condition  of  the  finer  organs  of  the  brain 
does  not  preclude  very  high  development  of  the  ordinary  intellec- 
tual faculties,  apart  from  the  epistemonic  power;  indeed,  there  are 
and  always  have  been  men  who  are  lamentable  examples  of  brilliant 
intellectuality  combined  with  the  densest  spiritual  stupidity.  In  the 
case  of  the  true  genius,  the  poet,  artist,  intuitive  philosopher,  and 
religious  mystic  of  saintly  purity,  there  is  a  partial  awakening  of 
these  centres;  while  in  the  case  of  the  seer  (excluding  from  that 
class  the  mere  psychic  clairvoyant)  the  higher  faculties  are  so  quick- 
ened that  he  becomes  cognizant  of  the  interior  worlds,  the  planes 
of  true  Being.  But  when  the  brain  is  fully  restored  to  its  true  func- 
tions by  the  energizing  of  the  speircma,  the  parakletos  of  the  Nezu 
Testament,  that  "Light  of  the  Logos"  which  is  literally  the  creative 
force  of  the  Logos,  then  it,  the  brain,  becomes  an  androgynous 
organ,  wherein  takes  place  the  immaculate  conception  and  gestation 
of  the  self-born  spiritual  man,  the  monogcncs,  who  is  in  very  truth 
"born  from  above."  This  is  the  process  of  regeneration  and  re- 
demption which  is  expressed  by  myth  and  symbol  in  all  the  great 
world-religions  of  antiquity.  There  being  a  direct  and  intimate 
relationship  and  correspondence  between  the  sacred  centres  in  the 
brain  and  the  lower  procreative  centres,  it  follows  that  true  spiritu- 
ality can  be  attained  only  when  a  pure  and  virtuous  life  is  led ;  while 
for  the  neophyte  who  would  enter  upon  the  telestic  labor,  the  task 
of  giving  birth  to  oneself,  perfect  celibacy  is  the  first  and  absolute 
prerequisite.  Unless  he  is  inspired  by  the  loftiest  aspiration,  guided 
by  the  noblest  philosophy,  and  restrained  by  the  most  rigid  moral 
discipline,  his  possibility  of  success  is  extremely  remote ;  and  the 
mere  dabbler  in  the  pseudo-occult  will  only  degrade  his  intellect 
with  the  puerilities  of  psychism,  become  the  prey  of  the  evil  influ- 
ences of  the  phantasmal  world,  or  ruin  his  soul  by  the  foul  practices 
of  phallic  sorcery — as  thousands  of  misguided  people  are  doing  even 


276  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

in  this  age.     To  follow  the  mystic  "path"  the  aspirant  must  keep 
himself  pure  physically,  mentally  and  psychically. 

The  Conqueror  and  his  host  are  opposed  by  the  Beast  and  his 
followers,  and  in  the  ensuing  battle  the  Beast  and  the  Pseudo-Seer 
are  captured.  They  are  thrown  into  the  lake  of  sulphurous  fire — 
which  simply  means  that  the  rejected  elements  of  man's  animal 
nature  return  to  the  elemental  kingdom  whence  they  were  derived 
— are  thrown,  as  it  were,  into  the  great  crucible  of  nature.  The 
Dragon,  however,  is  imprisoned  for  a  thousand  years,  after  which 
he  must  be  let  loose  for  a  short  time;  that  is,  the  Conqueror  has 
yet  one  more  incarnation  to  undergo,  and  therefore  does  not  now 
destroy  altogether  the  epithumetic  principle,  though  in  his  next  and 
final  earth-life  he  will  make  short  work  of  it.  The  thousand  years, 
as  a  period  between  incarnations,  merely  express  the  apparent  time 
on  the  spiritual  plane,  where,  as  Plato  explains,  sensation  is  of  ten- 
fold intensity,  so  that  the  thousand  years,  here  as  in  the  vision  of 
Er,  "answer  to  the  hundred  years  that  are  reckoned  as  the  life  of 
man."  The  Dragon  is  disposed  of,  so  far  as  the  Apocalyptic  drama 
is  concerned ;  but  loannes  gives  a  paragraph  in  the  future  tense  to 
tell  of  his  final  fate.  Finding  it  necessary  to  explain  first,  in  a 
general  way,  what  happens  to  the  soul  after  death  and  between 
incarnations,  he  does  so  by  describing  a  vision.  He  sees  thrones 
and  those  seated  on  them,  and  judgment  is  passed  on  them.  These 
represent  a  series  of  after-death  judgments;  for  after  each  incarna- 
tion the  incarnating  Ego  passes  through  a  purifying  ordeal  or 
"judgment."  All  his  activities  during  the  past  earth-life  are  re- 
viewed ;  in  the  allegory  they  are  described  as  souls  revivified.  Thus 
the  souls  of  those  that  had  been  beheaded  because  they  had  the 
evidence  of  lesous  (the  Nous),  and  those  who  had  not  worshipped 
the  Beast  (that  is,  the  latent  intuitions  that  had  been  suffered  to  die 
in  the  mincl,  and  the  higher  thoughts,  emotions  and  aspirations), 
come  to  life  and  reign  with  the  Christos  (the  Nous  now  illumined, 
epistcmon,  because  freed  from  the  body)  for  a  thousand  years,  that 
is,  during  the  non-incarnated  period.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  (the 
thoughts  and  emotions  that  were  concerned  only  with  the  carnal 
nature)   do  not  come  to  life  until  the  expiration  of  the  celestial 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      277 

interregnum.  They  lie  in  latency  until  the  Ego  reincarnates,  when 
they  again  become  kinetic  impulses.  This  coming  to  life  of  the 
nobler  elements  of  man's  nature,  which  were  suppressed  and  slain 
during  his  earthly  sojourn,  is  called  "the  first  resurrection."  Re- 
turning from  this  general  exposition  to  the  particular  case  of  the 
Dragon  in  the  drama  (and  hence  changing  to  the  future  tense), 
loannes  explains  that  this  Adversary  will  be  let  loose  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  thousand  years  and  will  muster  all  the  evil  forces 
to  make  an  assault  on  the  beloved  city— only  to  have  his  forces 
consumed  by  the  divine  fire,  and  himself  be  thrown  into  the  lake  of 
fire  and  sulphur,  where  the  Beast  and  the  Pseudo-Seer  have  already 
been  sent,  thus  sharing  with  them  "the  second  death." 

But  the  physical  body  of  the  Conqueror  is  not  dead ;  it  is  subju- 
gated, purified  and  shorn  of  its  passional  centres.  The  downfall  of 
Babylon  expresses  figurati^'ely  the  death  of  the  carnal  nature; 
for  in  his  regeneration  the  initiate  has  passed  through  a  process 
analogous  to  death,  and  therefore  he  undergoes  a  judgment-ordeal 
similar  to  that  meted  out  to  the  excarnated  soul,  but  of  vaster  scope 
and  mightier  import.  A  great  white  throne  appears,  and  from  the 
face  of  the  enthroned  Majesty  the  earth  and  the  sky  flee  and  vanish, 
for  he  is  the  perfected  Self  of  the  Man,  higher  than  earth  and 
heaven,  greater  than  all  the  Gods.  He  is  summing  up  the  cycle  of 
his  incarnations,  and  on  all  the  elemental  forces  and  faculties  of 
his  composite  nature  which  have  made  up  his  many  personalities 
of  the  past  he  renders  judgment  '"according  to  their  works."  All 
these,  "the  dead"  in  the  three  lower  worlds,  spring  to  life  and  are 
"judged."  as  loannes  reiterates,  "each  and  all.  according  to  their 
works."  The  condemned  elements  of  the  physical  and  psychic 
natures  ("Death  and  the  Unseen")  are  thrown  into  the  lake  of  fire, 
the  chaotic  "eighth  sphere"  in  which  the  creative  fire  refines,  as 
material  for  future  aeons,  the  hylic  refuse  of  each  cycle;  and  this  is 
termed  the  "second  death." 

Then  appear  a  new^  sky  and  a  new  earth,  that  is,  the  subjective 
and  the  objective  consciousness  of  the  Nous  on  its  own  plane;  but 
the  sea,  the  sensuous  consciousness  of  the  lower  plane,  has  passed 
out  of  existence.     The  holy  city,  the  deathless  solar  body,  now 


278  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

comes  down  out  of  the  sky,  enveloped  in  its  halo,  or  radiance  (he 
doxa),  the  sun-robe  of  the  God.  This  aureola  is  self-luminous,  with 
an  opalescent  glitter ;  it  is  the  "wall"  of  the  city,  having  twelve 
gateways  (the  orifices  of  the  body),  and  at  the  gateways  twelve 
Divinities  (the  twelve  great  Gods  of  the  Zodiac,  or  cosmic  forces), 
and  with  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  (the  zodiacal 
signs)  inscribed  on  the  gates;  the  tribes  are  in  four  triads,  assigned 
to  the  four  regions  of  space.  The  wall  of  the  city  has  twelve  foun- 
dations, which  have  on  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of 
the  Lamb;  these  are  the  twelve  powers  of  the  Logos,  the  spiritual 
archetypes  of  the  twelve  cosmic  forces ;  for  in  symbology  the  "foun- 
dation" of  all  things  is  the  spirit,  upon  which  rests  the  structure  of 
whatever  is  manifested.  The  measurements  of  the  city  and  its 
wall  have  already  been  explained,  together  with  the  enigma  of  its 
cubical  form ;  the  further  details  relating  to  it  will  be  elucidated  in 
their  proper  place  in  the  commentary. 

"Aiim.  Come  thou,  O  Thought  Divine!  The  grace  of  the  Divine 
Thought  be  wath  the  holy  devotees.  Aum."  Thus  ends  the  Apoca- 
lypse of  Joannes,  one  of  the  most  stupendous  allegories  ever  penned 
by  the  hand  of  man. 

So  comprehensive,  complete  and  coherent  is  the  Apocalypse,  that 
its  full  beauty,  even  in  its  fine  finish  of  details,  can  be  perceived  only 
when  it  is  viewed  as  a  whole ;  nor  can  its  deeper  meaning  be  grasped 
by  mere  analytical  study.  Its  multiplicity  of  details  and  reduplica- 
tion of  symbols  have  utterly  baffied  all  attempts  to  analyze  it  by 
empirical  methods ;  and  the  exotericists  have  fared  even  w'orse 
through  inability  to  distinguish  from  the  main  action  of  the  drama 
the  explanatory  matter  introduced  by  means  of  side-scenes.  Yet, 
in  reality,  the  construction  of  the  drama  is  not  complicated,  and  its 
characters  are  not  numerous.  Its  dramatis  persona:  are: 
A.  The  God,  the  forever  concealed  Divine  Presence. 
I.     The  First  Logos  (logos  endiathetos,  immanent  idea),  the 

Divine  Love,  from  whom  proceed : 
II.      (a)     The    Second    Logos     (logos    prophorikos,    uttered 
thought),  the  Divine  Thought,  the  ruler  of  the  cosmic 
forces ;  symbolized  by  the  Conqueror,  the  Sun  ; 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      279 

(b)    The  Light  of  the  Logos,  Arche,  the  Divine  Sub- 
stance, primordial  matter ;  symbohzed  by  the  Sky-Virgin, 
the  ]\Ioon.     As  Philon  Judaios  says   {De  Con  fits.  Ling., 
p.  267),  the  Logos  is  the  Arche;  as  Spirit-Matter  they  are 
one  in  essence.    They  emanate : 
in.     The  Twelve  Powers,  of  which  five  are  noetic  (solar)  and 
seven  are  substantive   (lunar)  ;  symbolized  by  the  Twelve 
Zodiacal   Constellations.      The   twelve   powers,   emanated 
successively  on  four  planes  of  existence,  make  forty-eight 
cosmic  forces ;  and,  with  Arche-Logos,  forty-nine. 
These  are  the  sole  performers  in  the  Apocalyptic  drama,  though 
some  of  them  assume  various  roles.     The  ancient  zodiac  was  sub- 
divided into  sections  of  ten  degrees  each,  called  decans,  giving  three 
to  each  of  the  twelve  signs;  and  to  each  of  these  thirty-six  sub- 
divisions was  assigned  an  extra-zodiacal  constellation,  a  paranatel- 
lon,  which  rises  or  sets  simultaneously  with  it.     These  forty-eight 
constellations,  twelve  in  the  zodiac  and  three  sets  of  twelve  beyond 
it,  with  the  Sun  considered  as  the  centre  and  making  up  the  number 
forty-nine,  completed  the  stellar  scheme  of  the  zodiac,   which  is 
faithfully  adhered  to  in  the  Apocalypse.    The  seven  sacred  planets 
play  their  parts  in  the  drama ;  but  they  only  represent  seven  aspects 
of  the  Sun.     The  extra-zodiacal  constellations  Draco,  Cetus,  Me- 
dusa and  Crater  are  especially  prominent  as  characters  in  the  drama. 
The  dramatis  persona:  and  scenic  arrangement  are  shown  in  the 
diagram  on  the  following  page. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  these  are  the  worlds  and 
forces  of  the  microcosm,  man,  as 
portrayed  in  the  zodiacal  scheme ; 
and,  as  the  two  triangles  represent 
the  conflicting  spiritual  and  animal 
principles  in  the  human  soul,  they 
should  be  considered  as  being  inter- 
laced in  man,  the  "perfect  square," 
and  enclosed  within  the  auric  plc- 
roma,  or  divine  synthesis,  thus : 


The  First  Logos 
(The  God's  Love) 


The  Second  Logos 
(Divine  Ideation) 


The  Virgin 
(Primordial  Substance) 


I 

The  Sky. 

(Spiritual  World.) 
12  Noetic  Forces. 

1               1               1 
The  Four  Worlds  of  Form 

IL 

The  Rivers  and  Springs. 

(Psychic  World.) 

12  Psycho-mental  Forces. 

IIL 

The  Sea. 

(Phantasmal  World.) 
12  Animal-psychic  Forces. 

IV. 

The  Earth. 
(Physical  World.) 
12  Vital  Forces. 

The  Beast 
(Phrenic  Intellect) 


The  Prostitute 
(The  Gross  Elements) 


The  Pseudo-Seer 
(Desire) 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      281 

The  four  planes  of  existence  are  represented  in  the  Apocalypse  as 
(i)  the  Sky,  (2)  the  Rivers  and  Springs,  (3)  the  Sea  and  (4)  the 
Earth;  while  encompassing  these  four  is  the  Air,  the  Empyrean, 
which  is  called  the  fifth  world  in  the  Ptolemaic  system,  although  it 
really  stands  for  the  three  formless  planes. 

The  twelve  forces  energizing  on  each  of  the  four  manifested 
planes,  or  worlds  of  form,  are  divided  into  a  five  and  a  seven;  the 
five  is  subdivided  into  a  one  and  a  four ;  and  the  seven  is  subdivided 
into  a  three  and  a  four,  the  three  being  subdivided  into  a  one  and  a 
two.  These  divisions,  written  diagrammatically  as  if  on  a  measur- 
ing-stick, make  the  "rod"  with  which  to  "measure  the  adytum  of 
the  God,  the  altar,  and  those  who  worship  in  it,"  excluding  "the 
court  which  is  exterior  to  the  advtum"^the  lower  triad: 


1 

4 

1     1          2 

4 

3 

5 

7 

1     1     2     1     3    I     4    1    5 

6    1     7        8         9    1    10       11       12 

This  "measuring-stick"  applies  to  each  of  the  four  manifested 
planes;  and  in  each  of  them  the  fivefold  group  relates  to  the  Sun 
and  the  Rectors  of  the  Four  Regions  of  Space,  symbolizing  vari- 
ously the  Logos  and  his  four  manifested  powers,  the  Xous  and  the 
four  intellective  faculties,  etc. ;  and  the  sevenfold  group  relates  to 
the  moon  and  her  septenary  time-periods. 

The  "rod,"  which  is  also  called  a  "hollow  reed"  (kalamos),  as  a 
symbol  is  the  caduceus,  and  represents  the  sushimiud  nddi,  the  two 
serpents  entwined  around  it  representing  idd  and  pi)igala.  The  one 
force,  sushumnd,  becomes  the  three,  seven  and  forty-nine  forces. 

The  fivefold  group,  which  is  really  a  quaternary  and  a  domi- 
nating power,  in  each  case  corresponding  to  the  Arche-Logos,  is 
shown,  with  a  few  of  its  many  correspondences,  in  the  table  on 
the  following  page. 

The  drama  has  seven  acts :  ( i )  the  opening  of  the  seven  seals, 
the  conquest  of  the  seven  principal  centres  of  the  sympathetic  ner- 
vous system;  (2)  the  sounding  of  the  seven  trumpets,  the  conc[uest 
of  the  seven  centres  of  the  brain,  or  cerebro-spinal  system;  (3)  the 


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INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      283 

battle  in  the  sky,  resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Dragon  and  his 
Divinities,  that  is,  the  elimination  from  the  mind  of  all  impure 
thoughts;  (4)  the  harvesting  of  the  earth  and  its  vine,  the  conquest 
of  the  seven  cardiac  centres;  (5)  the  outpouring  of  the  seven 
scourges,  the  concjuest  of  the  generative  centres,  which  finishes  the 
"conquest  of  the  chakras"  and  brings  about  the  birth  of  the  solar 
body;  (6)  the  battle  in  the  psychic  world,  or  infernal  region,  called 
"Harmagedon."  resulting  in  the  overthrow  of  the  three  beasts,  that 
is.  the  extinction  of  the  extraneous  phantasmal  demon,  or  composite 
elemental  self;  and  (7)  the  last  judgment,  the  summing-up  of  the 
completed  cycle  of  earth-lives.  All  the  remaining  portions  of  the 
book  are  explanatory  and  descriptive.  Of  these  seven  acts,  four 
(the  conquests  of  the  chakras)  relate  to  the  four  somatic  divisions, 
and  the  other  three  to  the  mental,  psychic  and  auric  principles.  For 
the  headings  of  the  present  commentary,  however,  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent division  has  been  adopted.  Tabulated,  the  four  acts  that  are 
concerned  with  the  conquest  of  the  centres,  in  their  bearing  upon 
the  process  of  regeneration,  are  as  shown  on  the  following  page. 

In  a  general  way,  the  four  conquests  made  by  the  Logos-Sun 
correspond  to  the  four  seasons  of  the  year :  the  opening  of  the  seals, 
the  beginning  of  man's  spiritual  resurrection,  is  Spring,  the  time  of 
germinating  seed,  expanding  bud  and  upspringing  vegetation ;  the 
energizing  of  the  noetic  centres,  the  trumpet-calls  awakening  to 
life  the  sunlikc  intellectual  faculties,  is  Summer,  the  season  of 
sturdy  growth  and  hastening  to  ripeness,  the  over- fervid  sun  at 
times  scorching  the  tender-green  growth;  the  opening  of  the  heart- 
centres,  the  harvesting  of  the  earth  and  the  vine,  is  Autumn,  the 
period  for  gathering  and  garnering  the  fruitage ;  and  the  conquest 
of  the  lower  life-centres,  the  scourging  of  all  that  is  base  and  impure 
in  man's  nature,  is  Winter,  the  season  of  purifying  frost  and  cold, 
which  prevail  until  the  returning  sun,  lengthening  the  days,  is  mysti- 
cally reborn  as  the  Christ-child,  the  Sun-God  of  a  new  divine  year, 
the  aeon  of  the  deified  man. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  mystical  drama  is  expressed  in  terms 
of  natural  phenomena :  its  hero  is  the  Sun,  its  heroine  the  Moon ; 
and  all  its  other  characters  are  Planets,  Stars  and  Constellations ; 


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INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES      285 

while  its  stage-setting  comprises  the  Sky,  the  Earth,  the  Rivers  and 
the  Sea.  It  elucidates  its  subject  with  the  glare  of  lightning,  pro- 
claims it  with  the  roll  of  thunder,  emphasizes  it  with  the  shock  of 
the  earthquake,  and  reiterates  it  with  the  Ocean's  voice,  the  ceaseless 
murmur  of  its  "many  waters."  Ever  it  maintains  this  cosmic  lan- 
guage, this  vast  phrasing  of  nature.  In  the  first  magnificent  chorus 
of  Constellations  who  encircle  the  throne  of  the  Sun-God  the  starry 
hosts  praise  him  as  the  creator  of  the  universe ;  yet  when  the  drama 
has  been  enacted  that  universe  has  perished,  "the  first  sky  and  the 
first  earth  are  passed  away,  and  the  sea  exists  no  more."  Then 
from  his  effulgent  throne  the  Logos-Sun  announces,  "Behold !  I 
am  making  a  new  Universe."  Now,  this  Apocalyptic  Universe  is 
Man,  the  lesser  cosmos,  of  whom  the  Logos-Sun  is  in  truth  the 
Architect  and  Builder,  and  whom  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  and  all  the 
Stars  of  heaven  have  helped  to  mould  and  make :  for  in  every  human 
creature,  however  fallen  and  degraded,  are  stored  up  all  the  forces, 
both  cosmic  and  deific.  which  brought  him  into  existence  and  have 
nurtured  him  throughout  the  vast  cycle  of  generation,  in  countless 
incarnations  upon  earth,  while  the  Logos  of  Light  has  taught  him 
the  loving  lessons  of  the  Good,  the  Beautiful  and  the  True,  and  the 
Logos  of  Darkness  has  held  before  him  the  dread  lessons  of  the 
Evil,  the  L'gly  and  the  False;  and  these  same  creative  forces  of 
the  Light-giving  Logos,  with  tlie  tireless  patience  of  the  deathless 
Gods,  but  await  the  time  when  the  resurgent  divine  life  again  stirs 
within  him,  and  then,  disintegrating  the  elements  composing  the 
carnal  man,  they  begin  a  new  evolution,  the  work  of  "making  per- 
fect" this  child  of  the  aeons,  whom  the  Sun-Adversary,  "the  Scor- 
pion-monster of  Darkness,"  can  drag  down  till  he  is  lower  than  the 
beasts,  but  whom  the  Logos-Sun,  the  Eagle  of  Light,  can  exalt 
above  the  Gods. 

Written  in  crabbed  Greek,  and  filled  with  phrases  borrowed  from 
the  Old  Testament,  the  Apocalypse  is  nevertheless  purely  Hellenic 
in  spirit  and  in  substance.  It  is  absolutely  faithful  to  the  Platonic 
philosophy;  and  its  Divinities  (angcloi)  are  simply  the  Gods  and 
Goddesses  of  Grecian  mytholog}^  Moreover,  the  Apocalypse  is 
really  a  poem.     It  seems  quite  possible  that  the  existing  text  is  but 


286  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

a  condensed  prose  version  of  a  magnificent  metrical  original:  if  so, 
the  phraseology  from  the  Old  Testament  was  adopted  to  disguise 
the  real  significance  of  the  poem,  and  the  work  was  done  by  some 
one  who  understood  the  subject-matter.  In  this  it  differs  from  the 
Synoptics,  which  were  given  their  present  form  by  ignorant  forgers. 
Many  of  the  obscure  passages  in  the  Apocalypse  become  clear  when 
poetically  expanded :  it  is  full  of  poetic  figures  of  speech  imper- 
fectly expressed  in  dry  prose,  and  a  subtle  undermeaning  runs 
through  the  text.  To  point  these  out  in  detail  in  a  commentary 
would  make  the  latter  wearisome  and  wooden.  Hence  the  literal 
prose  translation  upon  which  the  present  commentary  is  based  is 
followed  by  a  metrical  version  which  is  designed  to  convey  the 
sense  of  the  Apocalypse  more  fully  and  accurately  than  can  be  done 
by  a  mere  verbatim  translation,  and  to  bring  out  the  humorous  and 
satirical  elements,  as  well  as  the  poetic  imagery,  with  which  it 
abounds.  To  the  prosaic  mind  the  Apocalypse,  read  misunder- 
standingly  in  a  prose  version,  may  seem  harsh  and  gloomy;  but 
considered  as  a  poem,  and  read  with  understanding  and  appreci- 
ation, it  is  seen  to  be  full  of  gladness  and  exultation.  In  this  metri- 
cal version  the  undermeaning  has  frequently  been  substituted  for 
the  deceptively  obvious  one  on  the  surface,  and  obscure  passages 
have  been  expanded  to  make  them  clear.  All  names  of  persons  and 
places  are  omitted  in  this  version  :  thus  the  seven  Societies  or  Lodges 
(ekklesiai)  are  designated  by  their  corresponding  colors  as  centres 
of  the  tottz'as,  Babylon  is  termed  "the  Haunted  City,"  I5annes  is 
called  "the  Seer,"  etc.  The  name  loannes.  it  may  be  remarked, 
appears  to  be  but  a  variant  of  the  Chaldean  Cannes,  the  personifica- 
tion of  seership. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 

Subtitle 

Chapter  i.  i,  2 

I  The  initiation  of  Anointed  lesous,  which  the  God  conferred  on 
him  to  make  known  to  his  slaves  the  [perfections]  which  must  be 
attained  speedily.  He  sent  his  Divinity  and  by  him  symbolized 
[them]  to  his  slave  loannes,  2  who  gave  evidence  of  the  Logos  of 
the-  God  and  of  the  evidence  of  Anointed  lesous— of  all  the  [vis- 
ions] that  he  saw. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  Greek  Mysteries,  which  were  also  called  the  "perfecting" 
or  "finishing"  rites,  the  candidates  for  initiation,  after  receiving 
some  preparatory  training  in  semi-exoteric  lesser  rites,  were  termed 
mystai,  "initiates,"  but  were  permitted  to  see  the  sacred  emblems 
only  through  a  veil,  symbolizing  the  dim  vision  of  the  psychics,  or 
"veiled  ones."  The  full  Initiates  were  called  epoptai,  "those  having 
super-sight" — or  seers.  The  word  apokalypsis,  "unveiling,"  is 
clearly  a  substitute  for  cpoptcia,  "initiation  into  seership."  That 
loannes  could  not  possibly  have  intended  the  title  of  his  occult  trea- 
tise to  convey  the  meaning  of  "revelation"  is  evident  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  work,  which  is  not  only  profoundly  esoteric  and  couched 
in  the  mystery-language  of  the  zodiac,  but  also  has  its  meaning  so 
impregnably  intrenched  behind  symbolism,  allegory,  anagram,  num- 
ber-words, and  other  puzzling  devices,  that  it  has  successfully  with- 
stood the  assaults  of  "those  without"  (the  exotericists)  for  nearly 
two  millenniums.  Its  subtitle  also,  by  the  word  "symbolized," 
"showed  by  signs,"  {escmancn) ,  likewise  indicates  that  it  was  not 
written  as  light  literature  for  the  profane.  Possibly  the  Apocalyp- 
tist  had  in  mind  the  words  in  Xenophdn's  Memorabilia  (I,  i.),  "It 

287 


288  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

had  been  whispered  about  that  Sdkrates  said  that  his  Divinity  (dai- 
monion)  used  to  give  signs  (semaincin)  to  him."  The  New  Testa- 
incut  word  OJigclos  is  merely  a  substitute  for  daiuwnion. 

The  title  makes  loannes  the  one  to  be  initiated  (unless  it  is  taken 
as  merely  indicating  his  authorship,  which  in  the  light  of  the  text  is 
hardly  a  reasonable  supposition),  while  the  subtitle  gives  lesous  as 
the  candidate  for  initiation  who  emerges  as  the  Conqueror  after  the 
telestic  ordeals;  for  here  loannes  and  lesous  are  but  one  individual- 
ity, loannes  representing  the  incarnated  man,  and  lesous  his  noetic 
Self,  whose  "slave"  the  material  man  truly  must  become  if  he  wills 
to  reach  the  heights  celestial.  The  Divinity  who  comes  at  the  behest 
of  lesous  is  higher  than  lesous  himself;  for  he  is  the  Logos,  who  in 
the  initial  vision  makes  his  appearance  as  the  "son  of  man,"  and 
remains  throughout  as  the  Tlierophant,  or  Initiator,  w^hile  lesous  is 
the  candidate  who  is  subjected  to  the  initiatory  trials  and  has  to  do 
the  perfecting  "works."  whereby  he  finally  becomes  the  Conqueror 
on  the  white  horse — the  new  Initiate  in  his  solar  body.  The  spiritual 
perfections  have  to  be  attained  "speedily"  by  sustained,  unremitting 
effort;  yet,  as  time  is  regarded  by  those  who  look  upon  earth-life 
as  an  affair  of  but  one  incarnation,  the  telestic  work  would  seem  by 
no  means  expeditious ;  for  it  requires  not  less  than  seven  incarna- 
tions of  untiring  effort  before  the  final  goal  is  reached.  But  the 
"path"  of  the  esotericist  is  indeed  a  short-cut,  and  his  a  speedy 
journey,  as  compared  with  the  progress  of  those  who  are  content  to 
follow  the  common  highway  of  evolution,  and  who  will  reach  their 
divine  destination,  their  promised  land,  only  after  long  ages  of 
aimless  wandering  in  the  wilderness  of  terrestrial  life. 

In  the  Apocalypse,  however,  as  in  the  Gospels,  lesous  personifies 
the  Sun-God.  The  Divinity  who  descends  and  becomes  the  Guide 
of  loannes  is.  of  course.  Hermes,  who  repeatedly  says  of  himself 
that  he  "comes  quickly,"  referring  to  his  winged  sandals,  presuma- 
bly. Apollon  representing  the  sun,  and  Hermes  the  solar  radiance, 
the  two  S3^mbolize  the  Nous  and  its  inherent  power ;  hence  they  are 
essentially  one,  and  they  act  jointly  as  the  Hierophant.  Their  vari- 
ous attributes  are  combined  in  the  solar  Dionysos. 

It  is  the  intuitive  mind — "Anointed  lesous" — that  eives  evidence 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  289 

of  the  Logos  to  the  neophyte,  and  he  in  turn  must,  according  to  the 
law  of  the  occult,  transmit  it  to  his  fellow-men — who  usually  repay 
him  with  some  form  of  physical  or  mental  martyrdom. 

Dedication 

Ch.  I.  3 

3  Immortal  is  he  who  discerns,  and  they  who  learn  [from  him], 
the  arcane  doctrines  of  this  Teaching,  and  observe  the  [precepts] 
which  are  written  in  it ;  for  [their]  season  is  near. 

COMMENTARY 

This  is  a  dedication  of  the  book  to  every  mystic  who  may  suc- 
ceed in  penetrating  its  inner  meaning  and  impart  to  other  students 
the  occult  doctrines  (logoi)  it  contains.  For  the  "Logoi  (oracles) 
of  the  Lord"  are  esoteric  aphorisms  having  in  them  the  potency  of 
the  Divine  Thought,  and  are  not  mere  "words"  comprehensible  to 
the  conventionalist.  Likewise,  propheteia  is  not  merely  "prophecy" 
in  the  fortune-telling  sense  of  predicting  future  events ;  the  word 
means  literally  "speaking  for"  (the  Gods),  the  office  of  the  seer 
being  to  receive  and  interpret  the  truths  taught  in  the  noetic  world, 
the  realm  of  the  Logos.  The  writings  of  Ezekiel,  Zechariah,  and 
the  other  Hebrew  "prophets,"  are  esoteric  treatises  on  the  nature  of 
man,  thinly  disguised  as  predictions.  In  them,  nations  and  person- 
ages play  the  parts  that  in  the  Apocalypse  are  acted  by  the  heavenly 
bodies. 

The  word  inakarios  means  much  more  than  simply  "blessed."  It 
connotes  the  state  of  the  immortal  Gods  (emancipated  souls),  as 
expressed  by  the  Sanskrit  term  scchchidananda,  "true  being,  con- 
sciousness and  bliss."  To  the  man  or  woman  who  resolutely  pur- 
sues the  path  of  purity  and  devotion,  there  will  come  unfailingly 
this  consciousness  of  immortality  and  spiritual  calm :  it  is  but  a 
matter  of  centring  the  mind  upon  the  deathless  inner  Self  instead 
of  upon  the  outer  self  that  is  under  the  sway  of  alternating  death 
and  birth.  This  mental  reverting  is  the  metanoia  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, not  merely  "repentance,"  but  "changing  the  mind"  from  the 
mortal  to  the  immortal  mode  of  thought. 


290  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

I 

INTRODUCTION-THE  SEVENFOLD  LOGOS-SUN 
-THE  SEVEN  PLANET-SUNS  OF  THE  LIFE- 
CENTRES,  AND  THE  SUN-GOD  AND 
HIS  FIVE  POWERS 

The  Seven  Life-centres  of  the  Body 

Cn.  I.  4,  5 

4  loannes  to  the  seven  Societies  which  are  in  Asia :  Grace  to  you, 
and  peace  from  [the  enthroned  God]  who  [for  ever]  is,  who  was, 
and  who  is  coming-,  5  and  from  the  seven  Breaths  that  are  before 
his  throne,  and  from  Anointed  lesous,  that  behevable  witness,  the 
first-born  from  "the  dead,"  and  the  chief  of  the  rulers  of  the  earth. 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  ekklcsia,  meaning  an  assembly,  or  group  of  people 
called  tog-ether  for  some  special  purpose,  a  society,  applies  very 
neatly  in  the  allegory  to  a  nervous  plexus,  or  ganglion,  which  con- 
sists of  nucleated  cells  acting  as  a  centre  of  nerve-force  to  the  fibres 
connected  with  it.  The  seven  Societies  are  the  seven  principal 
ganglia;  later  they  are  metamorphosed  into  "seven  little  lamp- 
stands,"  each  ganglion  being  a  little  brain,  a  minor  light-giver  in 
the  body,  as  the  brain  is  the  great  light-giver,  or  microcosmic  sun ; 
and  then  they  are  changed  almost  directly  into  "seven  seals"  on  a 
scroll,  the  chakras  being  indeed  sealed  in  the  materialistic  person, 
so  far  as  concerns  their  psychic  functions. 

The  enthroned  God  is  the  First  Logos,  who  abides  in  the  Eternal, 
and  is  not  to  be  considered  as  incarnated,  but  rather  as  overshadow- 
ing the  man  on  earth.  The  word  "coming"  (erchonienos)  is  used 
because  the  future  participle  of  the  verb  "to  be"  (esomenos)  would 
convey  an  erroneous  metaphysical  concept;  "was,"  in  the  imperfect 
tense,  expresses  an  action  still  continuing,  but  the  future,  "shall  be," 
would  imply  something  that  does  not  yet  exist,  whereas  the  Logos 
is  represented  as  subsisting  in  an  infinite  Present  which  includes  in 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  291 

itself  the  Past  and  the  Future.  In  the  Fourth  Evangel  (viii.  58) 
the  same  idea  is  expressed  by  the  words,  "Before  Abraham  was 
bom,  I  aui."  Thus  also  Plato  teaches  {Timaios,  38)  that  it  is  erro- 
neous to  attribute  the  past  and  the  future  to  the  Eternal ;  ''For  we 
say,  indeed,  that  he  was,  he  is  and  he  will  be ;  but  'he  is'  alone  ap- 
proximates the  true  concept  (logos)  ;  for  'was'  and  'will  be'  are 
properly  to  be  said  only  of  generation  in  time."  The  two  Logoi 
are  really  one ;  the  distinction  between  them  is  purely  metaphysical. 
The  seven  Breaths  [pneuuiata) ,  which  appear  later  as  seven  stars 
(the  seven  planets),  are  the  Chief  Divinities,  IMichael,  Gabriel,  etc., 
representing  seven  aspects  of  the  Logos.  lesous  Christos,  the  first- 
born from  ''the  dead,"  is  the  epistemonic  (intuitive)  Mind;  the 
intuition  is  the  first  of  man's  dormant  spiritual  faculties  to  awaken, 
bringing  certainty  of  knowledge,  and  becoming  the  dominant  power 
in  his  life. 

The  Incarnating  Self 

Ch.  I.  5.  6 

To  him  who,  having  graciously  welcomed  us  and  washed  us 
from  our  sins  in  his  blood,  6  also  made  us  rulers  and  sacrificers 
to  his  God  and  Father — to  him  be  the  glory  and  the  dominion 
throughout  the  aeons  of  the  aeons !    Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

These  words  of  loannes  refer  to  the  initiation  he  has  passed 
through,  and  which  he  is  about  to  describe.  The  lustration  {hap- 
tisuws)  of  blood,  which  emancipates  from  sin,  is  the  rain  of  purify- 
ing fire  (the  "blood"  of  the  Logos)  poured  out  by  the  Divinities 
charged  with  the  seven  scourges.  By  a  bold  oriental  simile,  a  vari- 
ant of  the  parable  of  the  prodigal,  the  higher  Self  is  represented 
as  hospitably  entertaining  the  returned  wanderer,  the  reincarnating 
self,  and  washing  from  him  the  stains  of  travel. 

To  each  of  the  planets  a  distinctive  attribute  is  assigned ;  and  here 
"dominion"  applies  to  the  Sun,  and  "glory"  to  the  Moon. 

The  Amen  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Sanskrit  Aum,  the  latter  being 


292  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

pronounced  with  a  nasal  prolongation,  called  ardha-mafri,  "half 
measure,"  thus  giving  the  Apocalyptic  "time,  [two]  times  and  half 
a  time."  Used  in  a  certain  way,  this  word  has  the  power,  through 
the  correlation  of  sound  and  the  vital  electricity,  to  arouse  the  spd- 
rcma,  or  regenerative  force.  To  use  it  effectively,  one  must  know 
not  only  its  correct  pronunciation  but  also  the  predominant  color 
and  the  key-note  of  his  own  aura. 

The  Incarnated  Self  as  the  Crucified 

Ch.  I.  7 

7  Behold !  He  comes  amidst  the  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see 
him,  and  they  who  pierced  him  [shall  see  him]  ;  and  all  the  tribes 
of  the  earth  shall  wail  over  him.    Verily!    Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

The  eyes  that  see  him  are  the  noetic  centres ;  they  who  "pierced 
him"  are  the  sense-perceptions;  and  the  "tribes"  are  the  repentant 
elements  of  the  mental  and  psychic  constitution.  The  "clouds"  are 
the  auric  forces;  here  the  nimbus  seems  to  be  referred  to  rather 
than  the  aureola ;  the  latter  envelops  the  entire  body,  while  the  nim- 
bus is  limited  to  the  head.  In  conventional  Christian  art  the  nimbus 
of  the  "Father"  (who  is,  in  fact,  the  First  Logos  and  not  the  Su- 
preme Deity)  is  represented  of  a  triangular  shape,  irradiating 
light-rays;  that  of  the  Crucified  (the  Second  Logos)  contains  a 
cross;  and  that  of  the  Virgin  (Arche)  has  a  circlet  of  stars.  In 
the  Christos-mythos  there  are  tzvo  crucifixions,  corresponding  re- 
specti\'ely  to  generation  and  to  regeneration.  The  first  crucifixion 
is  the  descent  of  the  soul  into  matter,  when  the  physical  body 
becomes  its  "cross"  and  the  five  senses  are  its  five  "wounds" ;  the 
human  figure,  with  extended  arms,  forming  a  cross,  and  the  objec- 
tive senses  being  avenues  that  lead  away  from  the  spirit.  The 
second  crucifixion  is  the  ascent  of  the  soul  to  spirit  through  the 
initiation-rite,  or  self -conquest,  when  it  is  mystically  said  to  be 
crucified  in  the  brain— in  the  place  called  Golgotha,  "The  Skull." 
Thus  Plato  (Phaidon,  p.  83)  says  that  "each  pleasure  and  pain  is 
a  sort  of  nail  which  nails  and  rivets  the  soul  to  the  body." 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  293 

The  Overshadowing  Self 

Ch.  I.  8 

8  "I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  O,"  says  the  Master,  the  God  who 
[forever]  is,  who  was,  and  who  is  coming,  the  All-Dominator. 

COMMENTARY 

In  apposition  to  the  announcement  of  the  coming  of  the  Crucified, 
the  uncrucified  First  Logos,  the  Eternal,  declares,  "I  am  the  A  and 
the  n,"  which  formula  includes  the  five  intermediate  vowels,  E,  H, 
I,  O,  and  T,  and  is  equivalent  to  saying,  "I  am  the  seven  vowels 
in  one."  Cedrenus  says  (p.  169)  that  the  Chaldasans  symbolized 
the  Light  of  Reason  (noesis)  by  the  vowels  aw.  These  two  vowels, 
the  first  and  the  last  letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  were  assigned 
to  the  Moon  and  Saturn,  the  intermediate  planets  answering  to  the 
five  other  vowels  in  their  order.  Thus  Achilleus  Tatios  {Eisagog., 
p.  136)  correctly  ascribes  the  seven  vowels  to  the  planets  as  follows  : 
A,  Moon;  E,  Mercury;  H.  Venus;  I,  Sun;  O,  Mars;  T,  Jupiter; 
and  n.  Saturn.  The  seven  Planetary  Powers  are  potential  in  the 
First  Logos;  in  the  Second  Logos  they  become  manifested  poten- 
cies. The  title  "All-Dominator"  is  solar;  Helios  pantokrator  domi- 
nates all  the  planets,  and  the  title  is  applicable  to  either  Logos.  Plu- 
tarch also  gives  the  vowels  with  the  planets.  Eusebios  quotes  a 
Greek  sage's  verses  to  the  Name  of  the  Deity :  "The  seven  vowels 
celebrate  Me,  Myself  that  am  the  imperishable  God,  the  inde- 
fatigable Father  of  all  Beings."  The  Egyptian  priests  were  said 
to  celebrate  the  praises  of  the  Gods  by  chanting  the  seven  vowels. 

The  Sun-God  and  the  Seven  Planet-Suns 
Ch.  I.  9-1 1 

9  I,  Joannes,  who  am  your  brother,  as  also  your  copartner  in  the 
ordeal,  ruling  and  patience  of  lesous,  came  to  be  in  the  island  which 
is  called  Patmos,  through  the  arcane  doctrine  of  the  God  and 
through  the  evidence  of  lesous.  10  I  came  to  be  in  the  Breath 
[-trance]  on  the  master-day,  and  I  heard  behind  me  a  loud  voice, 
like  a  trumpet-call,     1 1   saying : 


294  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"What  you  see,  write  in  a  scroll,  and  send  [the  message]  to  the 
seven  Societies  which  are  in  Asia :  to  Ephesos,  Smyrna,  Pergamos, 
Thyateira,  Sardeis,  Philadelpheia  and  Laodikeia." 

COMMENTARY 

Serene  patience  is  one  of  the  indispensable  qualifications  of  the 
aspirant  for  spiritual  knowledge,  and  so  is  the  '"ruling,"  or  domi- 
nance of  the  higher  intellect,  the  Nous  (lesous),  over  the  lower 
faculties.  The  ordeal  (thlipsis)  is  that  of  initiation,  now  begun. 
Through  the  awakening  noetic  perception  (the  "evidence  of 
lesous")  and  the  increasing  light  from  the  Logos — the  whitening  of 
the  dawn  of  the  new  life— the  aspirant  becomes  isolated,  and  in  the 
drear  loneliness  of  one  who  has  forever  abandoned  the  illusions  of 
sensuous  existence,  but  has  not  yet  seen  the  sunrise  of  the  spirit, 
he  dwells,  as  it  were,  on  an  island,  apart  from  his  fellow-men.  Then 
through  his  introspection  comes  the  message  of  the  Great  Breath, 
and  in  the  sacred  trance  he  attains  his  first  autopsia,  beholding  the 
apparition  of  his  own  Logos. 

Ch.  I.  12-16 

12  I  turned  about  to  see  the  Voice  which  was  speaking  with  me. 
Having  turned.  T  saw  seven  little  golden  lampstands.  13  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  little  lampstands  an  [apparition]  like  the  son  of  man, 
wearing  [a  vesture]  reaching  to  the  feet  and  girded  at  the  paps  with 
a  golden  girdle.  14  His  head  and  his  hair  were  white  as  white 
wool,  [white]  as  snow;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  blaze  of  fire.  15 
His  feet  were  like  the  liquid  metal  that  is  as  if  it  had  been  melted 
in  a  furnace.  His  voice  was  as  the  voice  of  many  waters.  16  In 
his  right  hand  he  had  seven  stars.  From  his  mouth  kept  flashing 
forth  a  keen  two-edged  sword.  His  face  was  [luminous],  as  shines 
the  sun  by  its  inherent  force. 

COMMENTARY 

This  apparition  is  a  fanciful  picture  of  the  Sun  as  the  Panaugeia, 
or  fount  of  all-radiating  light ;  and,  like  all  the  puzzles  of  loannes, 
it  is  ingeniously  constructed.  The  "voice"  that  speaks  is  the  primary 


The  white  hair  of  hoary 

Koovoc  0 


(Saturn) 


The  blazing  eyes  of  wide-seeing 

(Jupiter) 
The  keen  sword  of 

ApT]^  0 

( Mars) 
-W     -^1     The  shining  face  of 

'       "HXto?  I 

(Sun) 
The  chiton  and  girdle  of 

'A<ppoBiTr]  H 

(Venus) 
The  swift  feet  of 


'Fipixfi;  E 

(  Mercur)') 
The  wave-murmuring  voice  of 


( Moon ) 


To     $t7j(^    TO  J    K6(7[/.OU 

(The  Light  of  the  Cosmos) 


296  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

aspect  of  the  Second  Logos,  in  whom  the  seven  "voices"  or  vowels 
(for  phone  is  the  one  Greek  word  for  both  "vowel"  and  "voice") 
become  differentiated.  As  the  all-pervading  solar  Light  he  walks 
about  among  the  seven  golden  lampstands,  the  seven  planetary 
bodies,  holding  in  his  right  hand  their  seven  "stars,"  the  light  which 
he  confers  upon  them.  The  Logos-figure  described  is  a  composite 
picture  of  the  seven  sacred  planets :  he  has  the  snowy-white  hair  of 
Kronos  ("Father  Time"),  the  blazing  eyes  of  "wide-seeing"  Zeus, 
the  sword  of  Ares,  the  shining  face  of  Helios,  and  the  chiton  and 
girdle  of  Aphrodite;  his  feet  are  of  mercury,  the  metal  sacred  to 
Hermes,  and  his  voice  is  like  the  murmur  of  the  ocean's  waves  (the 
"many  waters"),  alluding  to  Selene,  the  Moon-Goddess  of  the  four 
seasons  and  of  the  waters.  To  have  placed  the  winged  feet  of 
Hermes  on  the  figure,  or  to  have  used  the  ordinary  word  hydrargy- 
ros  ("water-silver")  for  mercury,  would  have  made  the  puzzle 
altogether  too  transparent;  so  loannes  has  employed  the  archaic 
word  chalkolibanon,  which  he  evidently  borrowed  from  Plato,  to 
designate  the  material  used  in  fabricating  the  feet  of  his  Planetary 
Logos.  Plato  speaks  of  cJialkolibanon  (Kritias,  p.  114)  as  a  metal 
mined  by  the  Atlantians  and  esteemed  by  them  as  the  most  precious 
of  metals  except  gold — which  it  is,  in  the  series  of  esoteric  corre- 
spondences, gold  being  the  metal  of  the  Sun,  symbolizing  the  Nous, 
and  quicksilver  being  the  metal  of  Hermes,  symbolizing  the  power 
of  divine  thought.  He  does  not  describe  it,  but  says,  "Chalkolibanon 
is  now  only  a  name,  but  was  then  something  more  than  a  name,"  a 
statement  that  is  no  more  than  a  sarcastic  comment  on  the  spiritual 
degeneracy  of  the  times.  But  in  his  highly  technical  alchemical 
work,  the  Timaios  (p.  59),  he  unmistakably  describes  this  metal, 
calling  it  simpW  chalkos  and  ranking  it  as  a  primary  metal  next  to 
gold,  as  "a  sort  of  bright  and  condensed  fluid."  In  Kritias  (p. 
116)  he  says  that  the  Atlantians  mined  three  kinds  of  stone,  white, 
black  and  red ;  apparently  these  were  the  white  variety  of  cassiterite 
(tin-ore),  melaconite  (black  copper-ore)  and  cinnabar  (the  red  ore 
of  mercury)  ;  for  he  goes  on  to  say  that  the  three  concentric  walls 
of  the  city  were  plated,  the  outer  one  with  copper,  and  the  next  one 
with  tin,  while  the  inner  wall,  which  surrounded  the  citadel,  "flashed 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  297 

with  the  red  light  of  chalkolibanon" —that  is,  vermiHon,  the  siil- 
phuret  of  mercury,  a  favorite  pigment  with  the  ancients.  Within 
the  citadel  was  a  temple  surrounded  by  an  enclosure  of  gold;  this 
temple  was  plated  with  silver,  except  the  pinnacles,  which  were  cov- 
ered with  gold.  Thus  in  his  symbolic  city  of  the  Atlantians  Plato 
introduces  five  of  the  sacred  metals.  Inside  the  temple  was  a  golden 
statue  of  Poseidon  standing  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  six  winged 
horses.  Whether  or  not  the  Atlantis-legend  has  any  historicity, 
Plato's  version  of  it  is  purely  allegorical.  Chalkolibanon  is  ren- 
dered "fine  brass"  in  the  authorized  version,  although  brass  was 
unknown  to  the  Greeks,  who  used  a  bronze  composed  of  copper 
and  tin.  But  chalkos  was  used  as  a  general  term  for  metal,  as  well 
as  for  copper  in  particular;  and  chalkolibanon  is  simply  the  "metal 
that  forms  in  drops,"  as  does  gum  exuding  from  a  tree.  It  is 
neither  "brass"  nor  "incense-gum,"  but  simply  quicksilver — fluidic, 
"as  if  melted  in  a  furnace." 

This  figure  of  the  Sun  as  the  ruler  of  the  planets  is  a  symbol  of 
the  incarnated  Self,  the  Second  Logos;  and,  as  given  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  apparition,  the  seven  planets  are  in  reversed  order,  for 
the  Second  Logos  is  the  inverted  reflection  of  the  First :  the  celestial 
man  is,  as  it  were,  upside-down  when  incarnated  in  the  material 
world.  The  significance  of  this  inversion  develops  later  in  the 
Apocalyptic  drama. 

Similar  descriptions  of  the  "son  of  man"  are  to  be  found  in 
Ezekiel,  Zcchariah  and  Daniel,  but  though  similar  they  are  not  the 
same ;  for  the  Apocalypse  is  siii  generis,  and  while  loannes  appar- 
ently borrows  many  symbols  and  poetic  images  from  the  ancient 
writings,  he  usually  employs  them  to  cloak  his  real  meaning  by 
endowing  them  with  a  different  or  a  variant  significance.  Hence 
the  exotericists  who  attempt  to  follow  these  supposed  parallels  will 
only  be  misled  and  confused,  as  loannes  doubtless  intended  they 
should  be;  and,  since  this  commentary  is  not  concerned  with  the 
esotericism  of  the  Hebrew  writings,  the  usual  references  to  them 
will  be  omitted.  The  real  parallels  between  the  Apocalypse  and 
Plato's  writings  are  much  more  numerous  and  striking  than  these 
deceptive  ones  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  scriptures.     The 


298  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

indirect  quotations  from,  and  references  to,  Plato's  works  are  more 
numerous  even  than  the  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  and 
while  the  latter  are  often  superficial,  the  former  go  to  the  very  heart 
of  the  Platonic  philosophy. 

Cii.  I.  17-20 

17  When  I  saw  him.  T  fell  at  his  feet  as  one  dead.  He  placed  his 
right  hand  on  me,  saying : 

"Be  not  afraid.  /  am  the  First  [Adam]  and  the  Last  [Adam], 
18  he  who  is  Alive.  1  became  a  'dead  man';  and,  Behold!  I  am 
alive  throughout  the  aeons  of  the  aeons,  and  I  have  the  keys  of  Death 
and  of  the  Unseen.  19  Write  down,  therefore,  the  [glories]  you 
saw,  also  those  which  arc.  and  those  which  are  about  to  be  attained 
next  after  them,  20  [beginning  with]  the  mystery  of  the  seven 
stars  which  you  saw  on  my  right  hand,  and  the  seven  little  golden 
lampstands.  The  seven  stars  are  the  Divinities  of  the  seven  So- 
cieties; and  the  seven  little  lampstands  are  the  seven  Societies. 

COMMENT.\RY 

The  esoteric  tenet  as  to  "the  First  and  the  Last''  is  very  clearly 
stated  by  Paulos  (I  Cor.  xv.  22,  45)  :  "For  even  as  in  the  Adam 
[-man]  all  became  moribund,  so  likewise  in  the  Christ  [-man]  all 
are  restored  to  life."  "The  first  man.  Adam,  was  born  in  a  living 
psychic  form  {f>syclic),  the  last  Adam  in  a  life-producing  breath 
(p)icuma)." 

The  Logos,  or  Divine  Man,  becomes  "dead"  during  the  long 
cycle  of  material  evolution ;  but  as  it  emerges  from  material  con- 
ditions through  the  awakening  of  the  epistemonic  faculty,  or  spir- 
itual intuition,  it  is  restored  to  life;  for  the  man  has  then  the  con- 
sciousness of  immortality,  and  holds  the  keys  with  which  he  can 
unlock  the  prison-doors  of  the  physical  world  ("Death")  and  the 
psychic  world,  or  Hades,  the  "Unseen."  This  representation  of 
incarnated  life  as  the  deathlike  obscuration  of  the  soul  is  very 
common  in  ancient  mystical  literature.  Plato  puts  forward  the  idea 
repeatedly,  as  in  the  punning  etymology  of  the  Kratylos  (p.  400)  : 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


299 


"Some  say  that  the  body  (soma)  is  the  tomb  (senia)  of  the  soul, 
which  may  be  considered  as  buried  in  our  present  Hfe." 

The  cities  of  the  seven  Societies  were  on  the  mainland,  not  far 
from  Patmos.  Starting  with  Ephesos,  the  nearest  to  the  island, 
they  extended  in  a  circular  form,  and  thus  answered  admirably  the 


Laodikeia  » 


The  Seven  Cities  in  Asia 


purpose  of  the  allegory.  But  that  there  was  no  Christian  Society 
at  Thyateira  history  is  positive,  and  is  somewhat  dubious  about  the 
others.  Ephesos  was  celebrated  for  her  wonderful  temple  of  Diana, 
the  Huntress  Goddess,  whom  the  Romans  connected  with  Sagit- 
tarius, Artemis  being  the  Guardian  of  that  sign;  and  Sardeis  had 
a  temple  to  the  Goddess  Rhea,  the  "Mother,"  who  was  quite  the 
moral  reverse  of  the  chaste  Diana.  At  Pepuza,  a  desert  place  in 
Phrygia  not  far  from  Patmos  and  the  seven  cities,  there  was  a 
centre  of  the  Mithraic  Mysteries. 

A  marked  peculiarity  of  the  Apocalypse  and  the  Fourth  Evangel 


300  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

is  the  constant  use  of  diminutive  forms,  as  "little  lampstands" ;  for 
both  works  deal  with  the  microcosm.  The  small  lampstands  are 
the  chakras,  and  their  "stars"  are  the  differentiated  forces  of  the 
speircma. 

The  Saturn-Sun,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of  Most  Sacred  Earth 

Chapter  ii.  1-7 

I  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Ephesos  write: 
"These  [words J  says  he  who  with  his  right  hand  dominates  the 
seven  stars,  he  who  walks  about  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  little 
golden  lampstands :  2  I  know  your  works,  and  your  over-toil  and 
patience,  and  that  you  can  not  bear  wicked  men.  You  put  to  the 
test  those  pretending  to  be  apostles  (and  they  are  not!)  and  found 
them  false.  3  You  endured  and  have  patience;  on  account  of  my 
name  you  ha\e  toiled  and  have  not  grown  weary.  4  But  I  have 
[this  complaint]  against  you,  that  you  left  your  first  love.  5  Re- 
member, therefore,  whence  you  are  fallen ;  reform,  and  do  the  first 
works— but  if  not,  coming  to  you,  I  shall  move  your  lampstand  out 
of  its  place,  unless  you  do  reform.  6  But  you  have  this  [virtue], 
that  you  abhor  the  works  of  the  Nikolaitanes,  which  I  also  abhor. 
7  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Breath  is  saying  to  the 
Societies. 

"The  Conqueror— to  him  I  shall  award  to  eat  [the  fruit]  of 
the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the  middle  of  the  Garden  of  the  God. 

COMMENTARY 

To  this  Society  the  Logos  announces  himself 
in  his  aspect  as  Memory,  the  faculty  of  receiving 
and  retaining  impressions,  which  links  together 
the  past,  present  and  future,  and  is  thus  the 
power  upon  which  depends  the  continuity  of  the 
individual  consciousness.  The  ever-toiling  and 
unwearied  memory  stores  up  all  the  experiences  of  the  individual 
throughout  the  long  cycle  of  incarnations,  and  no  memories  are  eve* 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  301 

lost  save  those  tliat  are  e\il  and  therefore  suffer  the  "second  death" 
after  the  final  purification  of  the  soul. 

The  mfdddhara  chakra  (represented  by  Ephesos)  lies  at  the  base 
of  the  spinal  cord,  and  being  thus  at  the  lower  pole  of  the  cerebro- 
spinal system,  and  the  starting-point  of  the  siishumnd,  it  is  directly 
related  to  the  highest,  the  sahasrdra,  or  conarium ;  for,  as  already 
explained,  the  lower  plane  of  life  is  the  inverted  reflection  of  the 
higher.  Hence  it  is  said  to  have  left  its  first  love  (the  divine 
love  having  become  human  love),  and  is  told  to  remember  whence 
it  has  fallen  and  do  the  first  works — that  is,  pour  its  force  into  the 
first  and  highest  chakra,  the  regenerative  brain-centre.  The  quality 
of  this  chakra  still  retains  somewhat  of  the  higher  love,  a  clinging 
to  purity  and  an  aversion  to  sensuality  and  every  perversion  of  the 
creative  function.  It  is  therefore  said  to  have  exposed  the  impure 
charlatans  and  to  abhor  the  works  (secret  rites)  of  the  Nikolai- 
tanes.  The  latter  were  a  pseudo-occult  sect  who  practised  the  vilest 
forms  of  phallic  sorcery.  The  unclean  worship  of  the  "Great 
Mother,"  called  Rhea,  Kybele,  Astarte,  and  by  other  names,  was 
wide-spread  in  Asia,  and  many  were  her  temples,  with  their  "con- 
secrated women." 

The  attainment  of  spiritual  knowledge  is  in  effect  the  process  of 
reviving  the  memory  of  the  incarnating  Ego  in  relation  to  the  su- 
pernal worlds,  before  it  became  immured  in  matter;  and  this  mem- 
ory of  things  divine  can  be  recalled  only  through  the  action  of  the 
paraklctos,  the  regenerative  force.  Hence  in  this  aspect  the  Nous 
is  said  to  hold  in  its  grasp  the  seven  stars  and  to  walk  about  among 
the  seven  little  lampstands.  According  to  Plato  (Phaidros,  248- 
250),  all  true  knowledge  is  derived  from  the  "recollection  of  the 
things  in  which  the  God  abides"  :  the  immature  souls,  who  can  not 
"feed  on  the  vision  of  truth,"  fail  of  being  "initiated  into  the  mys- 
teries of  Being,  and  are  nourished  with  the  food  of  opinion,"  but 
"he  who  employs  aright  these  memories  is  ever  being  initiated  into 
the  perfect  mysteries,  and  alone  becomes  perfect."  In  Mow  (p.  81) 
he  says :  "The  soul,  then,  as  being  immortal,  and  having  been  born 
many  times,  and  having  seen  all  things  that  there  are,  whether  in 
this  world  or  the  unseen  world,  has  knowledge  of  them  all,  and  it 


302  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

is  no  wonder  that  she  sh(jul(l  be  able  to  call  t<^  remembrance  all 
that  she  ever  knew."  Says  an  Orphic  hymn  to  Mnemosyne,  the 
Goddess  of  Memory:  "In  thy  mystics  waken  memory  of  the  holy 
rite,  and  Lethe  drive  afar." 

As  the  sun  enters  each  sign  of  the  zodiac  it  is  said,  astrologically, 
to  "con(|iier"  the  sign  and  to  assimilate  its  particular  (piality;  and 
the  same  is  said  of  the  kundalim  as  it  passes  through  the  cliakras. 
Hence  the  hero  of  the  Apocalypse,  who  is  the  Nous,  or  microcosmic 
Sun,  is  called  "the  Conqueror." 

The  award  to  the  Conqueror,  in  the  aspect  here  presented,  is  the 
Eternal  Memory:  he  shall  eat  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life  (the  fruit- 
age of  the  life-cycle)  in  the  God's  own  abiding-place,  the  mystical 
Paradise,  or  state  of  ineffable  bliss. 

In  this  aspect  the  Logos  is  Kronos  (Saturn),  the  God  of  Time; 
the  corresponding  vowel  is  fl  and  the  quality  tcr;)(V9,  "strength," 
the  power  of  holding  and  retaining. 

Saturn  is  the  ruling  planet  of  Capricornus.  The  aspects  of  the 
Logos-Sun  are  given  in  the  order  of  the  planets  as  they  are  domi- 
ciled in  the  signs  from  Capricornus  reversely  to  Cancer. 

The  Jupiter-Sun,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of  Living  Water 

Ch.  II.  8-II 

8  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Smyrna  write: 
"These  [words]  says  the  First  [Adam]  and  the  Last  [Adam], 
wdio  became  a  'dead  man,'  and  came  to  life:  9  I  know  your  works, 
and  ordeal  and  poverty  (but  you  are  rich!)  and  the  profanity  of 
those  claiming  to  be  Judaeans — and  they  are  not,  but  are  an  assem- 
bly of  the  Adversary.  10  Do  not  fear  the  [ordeals]  which  you 
are  about  to  undergo.  Behold !  The  Accuser  is  about  to  cast  some 
of  you  into  prison,  that  you  may  be  brought  to  trial ;  and  you  will 
have  an  ordeal  of  ten  days.  Become  confiding  until  death  and  I 
shall  give  you  the  crown  of  life.  11  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Breath  is  saying  to  the  Societies. 

"The  Conqueror  shall  not  at  all  be  punished  by  the  second 
death. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  303 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  Logos  is  presented  in  his  aspect  as  Reason,  the  highest 
philosophical  intellection  (noesis),  which  in  the  carnal  man  is  dor- 
mant, but  which  awakens  when  he  turns  to  the  serious  considera- 
tion of  the  concerns  of  the  higher  life. 

The  reasoning  faculty,  hampered  by  the  ma- 
terial brain,  is  poverty-stricken ;  but  when  freed 
from  the  trammels  of  matter  it  is  rich  in  ideas. 
But  here  the  words  "but  you  are  rich"  seem  to  be 
satirical,  referring  to  the  wealth  of  false  learning. 
The  pseudo-Judseans  are  the  irrational  dogmas 
of  exoteric  religion,  which  are  put  forth  as  divine 
revelations,  though  they  are  obviously  opposed  to  reason,  and  are 
but  the  mere  vagaries  of  the  phrenic  mind  when  under  the 
stimulus  of  the  perverted  devotional  nature,  and  come,  there- 
fore, not  from  the  Logos  but  from  his  adversary,  Satanas,  the 
foe  of  intellectual  light.  It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  the 
Hebrew  language  was  at  first  a  secret  sacerdotal  jargon  of  Egyptian 
origin;  and  St.  Gregory  of  Xyssa  asserts  (Orotio,  p.  12)  that  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  day  knew  positively  that  it  was  not  as 
ancient  as  other  languages  and  did  not  become  the  spoken  language 
of  the  Jews  until  after  their  departure  from  Egypt.  The  word 
"Jew"  is  used  throughout  the  Apocalypse  in  its  Kabbalistic  mean- 
ing, for  one  having  esoteric  knowledge,  an  initiate ;  as  in  the  Kab- 
balistic maxim,  "The  stone  becomes  a  plant,  the  plant  an  animal, 
the  animal  a  man,  the  man  a  Jew,  and  the  Jew  a  God."  Hence 
came  the  myth  of  the  "chosen  people." 

The  "ordeal  of  ten  days"  is  apparently  a  fast,  as  in  Daniel  i. 
12,  14. 

This  chakra,  the  adhishthana,  is  the  starting-point  of  Ida  and 
pingala,  which  are  allegorized  in  the  Apocalypse  as  the  "two  wit- 
nesses," the  sushumna  being  the  third. 

The  reward  of  the  Conqueror  is  Conscious  Immortality :  he  is 
to  wear  the  crown  of  life,  and  nothing  that  originates  in  the  spir- 
itual mind  shall  pass  into  the  oblivion  of  the  second  death. 


304  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

This  aspect  of  the  Logos  is  that  of  Zeus  (Jupiter),  the  son  of 
Kronos  and  the  father  of  Gods  and  men,  who  was  also  called  Zeus 
Triopcs,  the  "Three-eyed,"  and  was  represented  on  the  Acropolis 
of  Argos  by  a  gigantic  statue  having  two  eyes  in  its  face  and  one 
on  the  top  of  its  forehead.  The  corresponding  vowel  is  T,  and  the 
attribute  cro^ta,  "skill." 

The  Mars-Sun,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of  Creative  Fire 

Ch.  II.  12-17 

12  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Pergamos  write: 
"These  [words]  says  he  who  has  the  keen  two-edged  sword: 
13  I  know  your  works,  and  where  you  dwell — where  the  throne  of 
the  Adversary  is.  You  are  holding  fast  my  name,  and  you  did  not 
abjure  belief  in  me  even  in  the  days  in  which  [the  oracle  was] 
Antipas,  my  believable  witness,  who  was  slain  among  you,  where 
the  Adversary  dwells.  14  But  I  have  a  few  [complaints]  against 
you,  because  you  have  there  those  who  uphold  the  teaching  of 
Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  set  a  snare  before  the  children  of 
Israel,  to  eat  [food]  offered  to  ghosts,  and  to  prostitute.  15  So, 
also,  you  have  those  who  uphold  the  teachings  of  the  Nikolaitanes 
likewise.  16  Reform — but  if  not,  coming  to  you  speedily,  I  shall 
combat  them  with  the  sword  of  my  mouth.  17  He  who  has  an  ear, 
let  him  hear  what  the  Breath  is  saying  to  the  Societies. 

"The  Conqueror — to  him  I  shall  award  to  eat  a  share  of  the 
occult  manna ;  and  I  shall  award  to  him  a  white  voting-pebble,  and 
on  the  voting-pebble  [will  be]  a  new  name  engraved,  which  no  one 
know  s  but  he  w  ho  receives  it. 

COMMENTARY 

To  this  Society  the  Logos  presents  himself  in  his  aspect  as  \\'ill, 
volition,  the  energizing  principle,  and  he  carries,  therefore,  the 
sword  of  the  War-God. 

Pergamos  stands  for  the  manipuraka  chakra,  the  solar  plexus, 
which  is  the  chief  centre  of  the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  and 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  305 

the  seat  of  the  epithiimetic  nature— the  Dragon,  or  Satanas,  the 

Adversary  of  the  Logos.     Plato  states  (Timaios,  p.  70  et  seq.)  that 

the  desires  are  "chained  down  Hke  a  wild  beast" 

in  the  region  between  the  midriff  and  the  navel, 

"and  knowing  that  this  principle  in  man  would 

not  listen  to  reason"  and  "was  liable  to  be  led 

away  by  ghosts  and  phantoms  of  the  night  and 

also  by  day,  the  God,  considering  this,  formed  the 

liver,  to  connect  with  the  lower  nature  and  to 

Arcs 
dwell  there,  contriving  that  it  should  be  compact, 

smooth  and  bright,  and  both  sweet  and  bitter,  in  order  that  in  it  the 
energy  of  the  thoughts,  proceeding  from  the  mind  (nous),  might  be 
received  like  figures  in  a  mirror  and  projected  as  images."  Thus,  he 
says,  the  creative  powers,  in  order  that  the  lower  nature  "might 
obtain  a  measure  of  truth,  placed  in  the  liver  their  oracle  (to  inan- 
teion) — which  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  the  God  has  given  second- 
sight  {mantikcn)  to  the  foolishness  of  man."  "Such,  then,  is  the 
nature  of  the  liver,  such  its  function  and  place,  as  said,  formed  for 
the  sake  of  second-sight."  This,  of  course,  is  the  faculty  of  the 
mantis,  or  individual  gifted  with  "second-sight";  and  this  is  also 
the  "witness  Antipas,"  who  has  indeed  been  slain  by  those  who 
have  lost  even  this  psychic  function  of  the  liver,  as  well  as  the  in- 
tuition of  the  intellectual  nature.  ANTI-IIA-S  is  simply  MANTIlS 
disguised  by  having  its  initial  M  converted  into  HA  {pa)  and  ana- 
grammatically  transposed.  To  solve  the  puzzle,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  combine  the  letters  11  and  A,  forming  lAI,  which  when  inverted 
makes  a  passable  M— and  incidentally  shows  why  "eminent  schol- 
ars" have  failed  to  find  a  satisfactory  Greek  derivation  for  the  word 
or  any  hi.storical  record  of  the  supposed  "martyr." 

The  snare  of  Balak,  the  eating  of  food  devoted  to  spirits,  and 
sexual  promiscuity,  all  refer  to  various  goetic  practices,  the  nature 
of  which  is  best  left  unexplained. 

The  reward  to  the  Conqueror,  who  by  the  dauntless  energy  of 
the  will  vanquishes  all  the  evil  foes  in  his  own  nature  and  fights  his 
way  to  the  pure  region  of  spiritual  light,  is  that  he  has  imparted  to 
him  the  secret  knowledge,  the  Gnosis,  and  is  given,  as  it  were,  a 


3o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

ballot,  being  named  and  naturalized  a  citizen  of  the  republic  of  the 
initiated. 

Here  the  Logos  has  the  semblance  of  Ares  (Mars).  The  cor- 
responding vowel  is  O,  and  the  attribute  8wa/At?,  "force." 

The  Central,  or  Day-Sun  (Logos),  Ruling  the  Life-centre 
of  the  Divine  Consciousness 

Cii.  II.  18-29 

18  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Thyateira  write: 
"These  [words]  says  the  son  of  the  God,  who  has  his  eyes  as  a 
blaze  of  fire  and  his  feet  like  the  liquid  metal:  19  I  know  your 
works,  and  your  love,  belief,  service  and  patience ;  and  that  your 
last  works  [are  to  be]  greater  than  the  first  ones.  20  But  I  have 
[a  complaint]  against  you,  that  you  tolerate  your  wife  lezabel, 
who,  professing  to  be  a  seeress,  teaches  and  deludes  my  slaves  to 
prostitute  and  to  eat  [food]  offered  to  ghosts.  21  I  gave  her  time, 
that  she  might  reform;  but  she  does  not  will  to  reform  from  her 
prostitution.  22  Behold!  I  cast  her  on  a  [Procrustean]  bed,  and 
[shall  subject]  to  a  great  ordeal  those  committing  adultery  with  her, 
unless  they  shall  reform  from  their  works.  23  I  shall  slay  her 
children  in  the  Death  [-world]  ;  and  all  the  Societies  shall  know 
that  /  am  he  who  searches  into  kidneys  and  hearts,  and  I  shall  give 
[knowledge]  to  each  of  you  according  to  your  works.  24  But 
to  you  I  say,  to  the  rest  in  Thyateira — as  many  as  do  not  possess 
this  teaching,  who  remained  guileless  of  knowledge  concerning 
the  depths  of  the  Adversary,  as  they  say — I  do  not  cast  on  you  an 
additional  burden.  25  Nevertheless,  that  which  you  do  possess, 
retain  dominion  over  it  till  I  come. 

26  "The  Conqueror,  and  he  who  guards  my  works  until  the 
perfecting-period,  to  him  I  shall  award  authority  over  the  people, 
2"]  and  he  will  shepherd  them  with  an  iron  wand  (like  vessels  of 
clay  they  are  being  crushed!)  as  /  also  received  [authority]  from 
my  father.  28  And  I  shall  award  to  him  the  morning  star.  29 
He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Breath  is  saying  to  the 
Societies. 


Helios 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  307 

COMMENTARY 

To  this  centre  the  Logos  presents  himself  in  his  aspect  as  Direct 
Cognition,  the  faculty  of  apprehending  truth  without  the  aid  of 
inductive  reasoning ;  and  in  this  aspect  as  the  Sun,  the  pure  intellec- 
tual effulgence,  he  is  not  the  "son  of  man,"  but  is  the  "son  of  the 
God,"  having  the  all-seeing  eyes  of  Zeus  and  the  winged  feet  of 
Hermes,  thus  combining  the  attributes  of  the  Divine  Reason  and 
the  Divine  Thought. 

Thyateira  represents  the  anahata  chakra,  the 
cardiac  centre.  As  the  liver,  the  organ  of  divina- 
tion, is  the  reflector  of  the  mind  in  the  epithumetic 
region,  so  the  heart  is  the  organ  which  in  the 
phrenic  region  serves  as  the  reflector  of  the  Nous, 
and  is  therefore  the  centre  of  the  higher  psychic 
consciousness.  The  corresponding  reflector  in 
the  brain  is  the  conarium ;  and  the  generative  organs,  the  "three 
witnesses,"  or  inverted  analogue  of  the  higher  triad,  fulfil  the  same 
psychic  function  in  the  lowest  of  the  four  somatic  divisions ;  hence 
the  allusion  to  the  "kidneys"  or  "loins" — a  euphemism  for  testes. 
Thus  the  creative  and  intellectual  centres  are  here  referred  to,  as  the 
Logos  here  has  the  combined  aspects  of  Zeus  and  Hermes.  The 
four  virtues  enumerated,  love,  belief,  service  and  patience,  corre- 
spond to  the  four  noetic  qualities  as  transmitted  through  the  heart. 

The  pseudo-seeress  lezabel  has  the  name  and  attributes  of  the 
sorceress,  Ahab's  wife,  of  malodorous  memory,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment story.  She  here  represents  the  emotional,  erotic  sort  of  psy- 
chism  which  is  sometimes  developed  at  orgiastic  "religious  reviv- 
als," and  which  is  more  characteristic  of  hysterical  women  than  of 
rational  human  beings.  By  this  prostitution  of  mind  and  emotion 
to  the  base  epithumetic  nature,  causing  moral  disintegration  and 
the  dissipation  of  psychic  energy,  mediumistic  faculties  are  some- 
times developed,  opening  up  avenues  of  communication  with  the 
shades  of  the  dead,  the  disgusting  larvae  to  whom  the  misguided 
medium  quite  literally  offers  as  food  the  elements  of  his  own  dis- 
integrating personality.     The  cardiac  centre,  when  purified,  is  the 


3o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

seat  of  the  spiritual  consciousness,  but,  unpurified,  it  is  the  "throne 
of  the  Beast,"  the  phrenic  or  psychic  mind,  and  the  "wife"  of  the 
Beast  is  the  psychic  body  even  as  the  solar  body  is  "the  bride  of  the 
Lamb."  The  cultivation  of  the  psychic  faculties  and  powers,  un- 
less preceded  by  moral  purification,  leads  inevitably  to  sorcery ;  and 
thus  the  misguided  psychics,  instead  of  attaining  emancipation, 
only  involve  themselves  more  deeply  in  the  cycle  of  incarnations — 
"the  great  ordeal."  As  said  in  the  Upanishads,  "they  go  from 
death  to  death." 

The  award  to  the  Conqueror — if  he  also  heeds  the  works  of  the 
Logos,  that  is,  observes  the  admonitions  of  the  spiritual  mind — is 
the  absolute  dominion  over  the  lower  faculties  and  forces,  which  he 
rules  as  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  and  he  receives  the  morning  star,  which 
symbolizes  the  Divine  Love  that  heralds  the  coming  day  of  full 
spiritual  illumination.  But  the  words  "iron  wand"  are  taken  from 
the  Old  Testament;  the  wand  should  be  a  golden  one,  as  it  is  the 
caduceus  of  Hermes,  the  beautiful  shepherd. 

Here  the  Logos  has  the  aspect  of  Helios  (the  Sun)  ;  the  cor- 
responding vowel  is  I,  and  the  attributes,  three  in  number,  are 
/cparog,  "dominion,"  tj-Xovto?,  "wealth,"  and  evxaptcrria,  *'thanks" 
or  "all-graciousness,"  the  latter  epithet  implying  that  the  Sun-Logos 
unites  in  himself  all  the  graces,  or  good  qualities,  of  the  seven 
planets. 

The  Venus-Sun,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of  Vital  Air 

Chapter  hi.  i-6 

I  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Sardeis  write: 
"These  [words]  says  he  who  has  the  seven  Breaths  of  the  God 
and  the  seven  stars :  I  know  your  works :  that  you  have  the  name 
that  you  are  alive,  but  that  you  are  dead.  2  Become  awakened 
[from  the  dead]  and  strengthen  the  remaining  [affections]  that 
were  on  the  point  of  dying;  for  I  have  not  found  your  works  ac- 
complished before  my  God.  3  Therefore,  remember  how  you  have 
received  [this  message]  and  heard  [it]  ;  and  observe  [its  precepts], 
and  reform.    If,  therefore,  you  will  not  be  awake,  I  shall  come  upon 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  309 

you  [silently]  as  a  thief  [comes],  and  you  will  not  at  all  know  what 
hour  I  shall  come  upon  you.  4  But  you  have  a  few  names  in  Sar- 
deis  who  did  not  sully  their  garments,  and  they  shall  walk  with  me 
in  white  [raiment],  for  they  are  deserving. 

5  "The  Conqueror— he  shall  thus  be  clothed  in  white  garments, 
and  I  shall  not  at  all  erase  his  name  from  the  book  of  life,  but  I 
shall  acknowledge  his  name  before  my  Father  and  before  his  Di- 
vinities. 6  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Breath  is 
saying  to  the  Societies. 

COMMENTARY 

To  this  Society  the  Logos  proclaims  himself  in  his  aspect  as  the 
Divine  Love,  the  deific  creative  energy ;  and  here  he  is  the  synthesis 
of  the  seven  planets  (stars)  and  the  seven  creative  forces  {pneu- 
mata),  thus  corresponding,  in  a  way,  to  the  First 
Logos,  or  Eros. 

Sardeis  represents  the  zishuddhi  cJiakra,  the 

centre  in  the  throat,  which  is  directly  related  to 

the  lower  creative  centres,   as  is  shown  by  the 

change  of  voice  at  the  time  of  puberty  and  the 

castrato  voice  of  the  eunuch.     The  throat  is  also 

.  Aphrodite 

peculiarly  affected  by  the  hner  emotions. 

This  higher  love  is  here  said  to  have  the  name  of  being  alive,  yet 
to  be  dead  in  reality;  for  the  devotional  aspirations  and  purer  affec- 
tions of  humanity  are  indeed  pitifully  weak  and  moribund.  It  is 
this  deadness  of  the  moral  feelings  that  stills  the  voice  of  con- 
science ;  yet  at  any  time  that  conscience  may  unexpectedly  speak  out, 
bringing  remorse  and  sorrow  to  him  whom  the  Self  has  thus  sud- 
denly aroused,  coming  upon  him  silently,  like  a  thief  in  the  night. 
This  simile  is  repeated  in   xvi.  15,  with  almost  the  same  wording. 

The  city  of  Sardeis  was  a  centre  of  Venus-worship,  having  a 
temple  of  Astarte. 

The  reward  to  the  Conqueror  is  perfect  purity;  and  the  auric 
color  corresponding  to  this  chakra  (its  esoteric  "name")  will  re- 
main in  the  aureola  (the  book  of  life),  or  "glory";  emotion  becom- 
ing transmuted  into  the  eternal  gladness. 


310  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

In  this  aspect  the  Logos  is  Aphrodite  (Venus),  the  Goddess  of 
Love ;  it  is  only  in  this  female  aspect  that  the  Logos  is  the  creative 
"Word"  (in  one  sense  the  occult  potency  of  sound),  and  therefore 
identical  with  Vach,  the  Goddess  of  Speech,  who  is  considered  to  be 
the  same  as  Sarasvati,  the  Goddess  of  Love  and  wife  of  Brahma 
(the  Logos)  in  Hindu  mythology.  The  corresponding  vowel  is  H, 
and  the  attributes  are  evXoyta,  "invocation,"  and  ySacrtXeta,  "realm" 
or  "ruling." 

The  Mercury-Sun,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of  Holy  Ether 

Ch.  III.  7-13 

7  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Philadelpheia  write : 
"These  [words]  says  he  who  is  Holy,  who  is  True,  who  has 
David's  key,  who  opens  and  no  one  shall  shut,  who  shuts  and  no  one 
opens:  8  I  know  your  works;  behold!  I  have  swung  open  before 
you  the  door  which  no  one  can  shut.  For  [I  know]  that  you  have 
a  little  force;  and  you  observed  my  arcane  doctrine,  and  did  not 
abjure  my  name.  9  Behold !  I  am  giving  [deliverance  to  some] 
from  among  the  assembly  of  the  Adversary  [composed]  of  those 
professing  to  be  Judseans — and  they  are  not,  but  are  lying.  Be- 
hold! I  shall  cause  them  to  come  and  make  obeisance  before  your 
feet,  and  to  know  that  /  have  graciously  received  you.  10  Because 
you  guarded  the  arcane  doctrine  of  my  patience,  /  also  shall  guard 
you  from  the  [first]  hour  of  that  probation  which  is  about  to  come 
upon  the  entire  home-land,  to  put  to  the  proof  those  who  are  dwell- 
ing upon  the  earth.  1 1  I  am  coming  speedily.  Retain  a  firm  grasp 
on  the  [steadfast  virtue]  which  you  possess,  so  that  no  one  may 
carry  off  your  crown. 

12  "The  Conqueror — I  shall  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  adytum 
of  my  God,  and  nevermore  shall  he  go  outside  of  it;  and  I  shall 
write  on  him  the  name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my 
God,  the  new  Hierousalem,  which  is  coming  down  out  of  the  sky 
from  my  God;  and  [I  shall  write  on  him]  my  new  name.  13  He 
who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Breath  is  saying  to  the  So- 
cieties. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  311 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  Logos  presents  the  aspect  of  the  Divine  Thought,  the 
pure  and  unmixed  nature  of  intellect,  or  the  un- 
refracted  light  of  the  Nous — Thought  not  differ- 
entiated into  thoughts,  but  considered  as  the  ener- 
gizing principle  of  Mind,  and  the  complement  of 
the  energizing  principle  of  Love.  "The  Holy'' 
and  "the  True"  are  identical  with  "the  Good"  and 
"the  True"  of  Plato,  while  the  correlated  Aphro- 
dite-aspect is  "the  Beautiful." 

According  to  Kabbalistic  mysticism,  ADaM  stands  for  Adam, 
David  and  Messias,  making  the  Messias  the  reincarnation  of  Adam 
and  of  David:  these  represent  three  stages  in  man's  life-cycle, 
Adam  being  the  primeval  state  of  childlike  innocence,  David  the 
adolescence  in  which  good  and  evil  struggle  for  the  mastery,  and 
lesous  (Messias)  the  stage  of  spiritual  maturity.  David,  for  all  his 
vileness  and  evil  deeds,  had  the  virile  depth  of  feeling,  philosophic 
breadth  of  mind  and  poetic  insight  that  give  promise  of  the  spiri- 
tual man ;  and  these  were  his  "key"  to  the  door  giving  entrance  to 
the  spiritual  consciousness.  Compare  with  this  xxii.  16  and  com- 
mentary. 

Philadelpheia  stands  for  the  djnd  chakra,  the  centre  at  the  fore- 
head. This  centre  is  the  point  of  divergence  of  the  auric  light,  the 
color  of  which  reveals  infallibly  the  spiritual  status  of  each  indi- 
vidual. Thus,  if  the  light  radiating  from  it  is  golden-yellow,  it  is 
the  "name"  of  the  Sun;  if  dull  red  or  green,  it  is  the  "brand  of  the 
Beast." 

The  hour  of  probation,  or  test,  is  the  opening  of  the  sixth  centre 
by  the  kundalim,  as  described  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal  (vi. 
12-17),  and  it  has  its  parallels  in  the  sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet 
and  the  pouring  out  of  the  sixth  libation-bowl. 

The  reward  of  the  Conqueror  is  that  he  is  to  become  a  sustaining 
power  in  the  spiritual  world,  no  more  to  reincarnate,  but  to  abide 
in  the  eternal  city,  the  solar  body. 

The  aspect  of  the  Logos  here  is  that  of  Hermes  (^lercury),  the 


312  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

God  of  Occult  Wisdom.     The  corresponding  vowel  is  E,  and  the 
attributes  are  Tifiyj,  *'honor,"  and  aajT-qpCa,  "deliverance." 

The  Moon,  or  Night-Sun,  Selene,  Ruling  the  Life-centre  of 
Pristine  Substance 

Ch.  III.  14-22 

14  "To  the  Divinity  of  the  Society  in  Laodikeia  write : 
"These  [words]  says  the  Amen,  the  witness  believable  and  true, 
the  origin  of  the  God's  organic  world:  15  I  know  your  works,  that 
you  are  neither  cold  nor  hot.  I  would  that  you  were  cold  or  hot ! 
16  So,  because  you  are  lukewarm,  neither  hot  nor  cold,  I  am  on 
the  point  of  vomiting  you  from  my  mouth.  17  Because  you  say, 
'I  am  rich,  I  have  become  rich,  and  I  have  lack  of  nothing,'  and  do 
not  know  that  you  are  the  worn-out,  pitiable,  beggarly,  blind  and 
naked  one,  18  I  advise  you  to  buy  from  me  gold  tried  by  fire — so 
that  you  may  be  rich — and  white  garments — so  that  you  may  clothe 
yourself,  and  the  shame  of  your  nakedness  not  be  apparent — and 
eye-salve  to  anoint  your  eyes — so  that  you  may  see.  19  All  whom 
I  love,  I  confute  and  instruct.  Therefore  strive  after  [wisdom], 
and  reform.  20  Behold  !  I  am  standing  at  the  door  and  gently  tap- 
ping. If  any  one  hears  my  voice  and  opens  the  door,  I  shall  visit 
him ;  and  I  shall  dine  with  him,  and  he  with  me. 

21  "The  Conqueror — I  shall  award  to  him  to  be  seated  with 
me  on  my  throne,  as  I  also  conquered  and  was  seated  with  my  fa- 
ther on  his  throne.  22  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Breath  is  saying  to  the  Societies." 

commentary 

To  this  Society  the  Logos  announces  himself 

as  the  Divine  Substance,  Arche,   from  which 

originate  all  the  elements,  both  subtile  and  gross, 

^ including  those  forms  of  matter  which  the  modern 

Selene  . 

physicist  classifies  as    forces. 

Laodikeia  represents  the  sahasrdra  chakra,  the  atrophied  "un- 
paired eye."    Hence  the  allusion  to  the  Phrygian  "eye-salve."    This 


THE  INITIATION  OF  JOANNES  313 

centre  should  be  the  seat  of  the  intuitive  faculty  of  ardent  aspi- 
ration, fervid  imagination  and  vitalizing  will,  as  also  of  the 
philosophic  reason,  of  the  analyzing  and  synthesizing  faculty,  of 
dispassionate  judgment  and  discrimination;  but  the  unpurified,  un- 
disciplined mind  is  capable  of  discursive  reasoning  only,  receives  no 
accession  of  truth  from  the  higher  subjective  consciousness,  and  is 
satisfied  with  the  acquisition  of  "learning"  as  a  mere  accumulation 
of  sense-perceptions  and  the  ideas,  notions  and  beliefs  generally 
current  among  men.  It  is  this  inferior  faculty  of  reason  that  is 
excoriated  in  the  text. 

The  words  "I  confute  and  instruct"  (iXey^co  kol  rratSevo;)  repeat 
a  favorite  doctrine  of  Plato,  who  teaches  (Sophist,  p.  230)  that 
"confutation  is  the  greatest  and  chiefest  of  purifications,  and  he 
w^ho  has  not  been  confuted,  though  he  be  the  great  King  himself,  is 
in  the  highest  degree  impure;  he  is  uninstructed  and  deformed  in 
those  things  in  which  he  who  would  be  truly  blessed  ought  to  be 
pure  and  fair." 

In  verse  19  there  is,  apparently,  a  lacuna;  the  word  "wisdom" 
(gnosis)  is  needed  to  complete  the  sense.  The  early  Christians 
hated  Gnosticism,  the  Wisdom-cult;  and  in  many  places  they  have 
expunged  the  word  "wisdom"  from  the  text  of  the  Gospels,  some- 
times leaving  a  lacuna,  as  here,  but  usually  substituting  "faith"  or 
"righteousness." 

Neither  cold  nor  hot,  that  is,  having  neither  the  dispassionate 
reason  nor  the  devotional  fervor,  but  lukewarm  and  nauseating  to 
the  spiritual  mind,  the  lower  mind  yet  prides  itself  on  its  supposed 
wealth  of  intellectual  attainments;  yet,  without  the  gold  of  spiritual 
refinement  and  the  white  garments  of  purity,  these  attainments  are 
meagre  and  unlovely.  In  the  Synoptics  the  exemplifiers  of  cold  in- 
tellectualism  (who  are  disguised  in  the  "historicized"  text  as  Jewish 
"scribes  and  Pharisees")  are  scathingly  reproached  by  lesous ;  and 
in  the  Apocalypse  false  learning,  as  distinguished  from  true  wisdom, 
is  ridiculed  and  satirized. 

The  voice  of  the  true  Mind,  the  Nous,  is  ever  speaking  to  man ; 
but  only  when  the  clamor  of  the  passions  is  silenced,  and  the  rude 
energy  of  the  lower  mental  faculties  suppressed,  can  that  voice  be 


314 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


heard :  for  the  divine  Visitor  does  not  knock  imperiously  for  admit- 
tance, but  makes  its  presence  known  by  the  fine  and  subtle  intuitions. 

The  reward  of  the  Conqueror  is  to  share  the  throne  of  the  God, 
to  become  one  with  his  own  highest  Self. 

Here  the  Logos  has  the  semblance  of  Selene  (the  Moon),  the 
"white-armed"  Goddess  who  rules  the  four  seasons  and  the  waters. 
The  corresponding  vowel  is  A ,  and  the  attributes  are  Sd^a, 
"glory,"  and  e^ovcria,  "authority." 

Tabulated,  with  their  correspondences,  the  seven  aspects  of  the 
Logos  are  as  follows : 


Societies 
AND  Centres 

Planets 

AND 

Vowels 

Aspects 

Attributes 

Rewards  to  Con- 
queror 

Ephesos. 
Sacral. 

T? 

ft 

Memory. 

Strength. 

Continuity  of  Con- 
sciousness. 
(Tree  of  Life.) 

Smyrna. 
Prostatic. 

% 

T 

Reason. 

Skill. 

True  Being. 
(Crown  of  Life.) 

Pergamos. 
Epigastric. 

^ 

O 

Will. 

Force. 

Spiritual  Power  and 

Knowledge. 

(Occult  Manna  and 

Voting-pebble.) 

Thyateira. 
Cardiac. 

O 

I 

Direct 
Cognition. 

Dominion. 
Wealth. 
Thanks. 

Dominion  over  All 

Faculties. 

(Iron  Wand.) 

Sardeis. 
Pharyngeal. 

? 

H 

Divine 
Love. 

Praise. 
Ruling. 

Eternal  Bliss. 
(Book  of  Life.) 

Philadel- 

pheia. 

Cavernous. 

5 

E 

Divine 
Thought. 

Honor. 
Deliverance. 

Emancipation  from 

Reincarnation. 
(Pillar  of  Adytum.) 

Laodikeia. 
Conarium. 

3 

A 

Divine 
Substance. 

Glory. 
Authority. 

The  Solar  Body. 
(Throne  of  the  God.) 

In  the  seven  benedictions  contained  in  the  Apocalypse  twelve 
attributes  are  given ;  of  these  three  are  assigned  to  the  sun,  two  to 
each  of  the  members  of  the  higher  triad,  and  one  to  each  of  the 
lower.     When  the  two  triads   (the  sun  being  always  the  central 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


31S 


planet)  are  paralleled,  the  result  is  a  fourfold  system,  in  which  the 
epistemonic  faculty  stands  alone,  and  the  other  faculties  are  paired, 
as  shown  in  the  followino-  table  : 


Planets 

Faculties 

Attributes 

1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 

Helios  (Sun). 

Direct  Cognition. 

Dominion. 
Wealth.  Thanks. 

Ares  (Mars). 
Aphrodite  (Venus). 

Will. 
Love. 

Force.     Praise. 
Ruling. 

Zeus  (Jupiter). 
Hermes  (Mercury). 

Reason. 
Thought. 

Skill.     Honor. 
Deliverance. 

Kronos  (Saturn). 
Selene  (Moon). 

Memory. 
Substance. 

Strength.  Glory. 
Authority. 

The  Divine  Self,  the  Initiator 
Chapter  iv.  1-3 

1  After  these  [things]  I  saw ;  and,  behold !  a  door  opened  in  the 
sky;  and  it  was  that  first  voice  which  I  [now]  heard,  like  a  trumpet- 
call  speaking  to  me,  [the  enthroned  God]  saying: 

"Come  up  hither,  and  I  shall  make  known  to  you  the  [perfec- 
tions] which  must  be  attained  hereafter." 

2  Immediately  I  came  to  be  in  the  Breath  [-trance].  Behold!  a 
throne  was  placed  in  the  sky,  and  on  the  throne  [a  God]  was  seated. 
3  The  enthroned  [God]  was  in  appearance  like  an  opal  and  a  car- 
nelian,  and  a  rainbow  encircled  the  throne,  in  appearance  like  an 
emerald. 

COMMENTARY 

This  trumpet-like  voice  is  that  of  the  First  Logos,  the  Enthroned 
Eternal  (ch.  i.  8),  and  not  that  of  the  Planetary  Logos  who  sent 
the  messages  to  the  seven  Societies. 

The  names  of  the  precious  stones  in  the  Greek  are  somewhat  un- 
certain ;  but  here  it  is  obvious  from  the  context  that  the  tao^Trtg  was 
what  is  now  called  the  opal. 

The  somatic  divisions  in  the  Apocalypse  agree  with  the  symbol- 
ism of  the  Jewish  tabernacle,  except  that  the  latter  was  semi-exo- 


3i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

teric,  following'  the  threefold  system.  Thus  Josephus  (Ant.,  iii. 
vii.  7),  copying  Philon  Judaios,  says  that  out  of  the  three  portions 
into  which  the  length  of  the  tabernacle  was  divided,  the  two  into 
which  the  sacrificing  priests  were  allowed  to  enter  represented  the 
Earth  and  the  Sea,  which  are  open  to  every  one,  and  the  third  por- 
tion, which  was  inaccessible  to  them,  was  like  the  Sky,  which  is 
reserved  for  God,  because  it  is  his  dwelling-place ;  he  further  ex- 
plains that  the  branching  out  of  the  candlestick  into  seventy  (prop- 
erly seventy-two)  parts  signified  the  decans,  the  seven  lamps  re- 
ferring to  the  courses  of  the  planets,  and  the  twelve  precious  stones 
on  the  high-priest's  breastplate  representing  the  zodiacal  signs, 
while  the  four  components  of  the  veil  denoted  the  four  elements. 

The  Lord  of  Life  and  His  Four  Manifested  Powers 

Ch.  IV.  4-8 

4  Encircling  the  throne  were  tw^enty-four  thrones,  and  on  the 
thrones  [I  saw]  twenty-four  Ancients  seated,  arrayed  in  white  gar- 
ments, and  [wearing]  on  their  heads  golden  crowns.  5  From  the 
throne  went  out  lightnings,  voices  and  thunders;  and  [there  were] 
seven  torches  of  fire  burning  before  the  throne,  which  are  the  seven 
Breaths  of  the  God.  6  Before  the  throne  [was  a  sheen]  as  a  glassy 
sea,  like  crystal.  In  the  middle  of  the  throne  [was  the  Lord  of 
Being],  and  in  a  circle  about  the  throne  [were]  four  Beings,  full  of 
eyes  before  and  behind.  7  The  first  Being  was  like  a  Lion ;  the 
second  Being-  was  like  a  young  Bull ;  the  third  Being  had  the  face 
of  a  Man ;  and  the  fourth  Being  was  like  a  flying  Eagle.  8  The 
four  Beings,  having  each  one  of  them  six  wings,  are  full  of  eyes 
round  about  and  within;  and  ceaselessly  day  and  night  they  keep 
saying : 

"Holy,  holy,  holy  [is]  the  Master-God,  the  All-Dominator,  who 
was,  who  [forever]  is,  and  who  is  coming!" 

COMMENTARY 

The  constellation  Aquila,  the  Eagle,  is  the  northern  paranatellon 
of  Capricornus,  and  one  of  its  names  was  "the  living  eye."     It  is  a 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  317 

stellar  reduplication  of  the  Sun,  and  is  associated  with  the  element 
aether.  The  four  Beings  are  the  manifested  prdnas,  the  Regents  of 
the  quarters  of  the  zodiac  and  the  four  trigons  or  triplicities  of 
water,  air,  fire  and  earth.  The  fifth,  the  unmanifested  life-wind, 
uddna,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  text ;  but  the  curious  wording  betrays 
a  lacuna:  for  the  four  Beings  could  hardly  be  "in  the  midst  of  the 
throne"  (the  Sun),  and  at  the  same  time  be  "round  about  it."  The 
fifth  Regent,  iiddna,  the  "Divinity  standing  in  the  Sun"  (xix.  17), 
and  corresponding  to  ?ether,  is  the  one  who  belongs  in  the  middle 
of  the  Sun-throne,  while  the  four  others  are  ranged  about  it ;  and 
uddna,  the  "upgoing"  life-wind,  is  properly  represented  by  the  soar- 
ing eagle.  The  fourth  Being  should  be  the  Scorpion;  but  he  is 
omitted  (presumably  because  he  would  cut  a  ridiculous  figure  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God)  and  the  Eagle,  who  is  really  the  fifth  Being 
and  Lord  of  the  four  others,  has  been  substituted  for  him. 

The  four  Beings,  or  four  operative  Powers  of  the  Logos,  cor- 
respond to  the  four  great  planes  of  existence  and,  therefore,  also  to 
the  four  niantcias,  or  states  of  seership,  on  each  of  those  planes. 
(When  loannes  speaks  of  being  "in  the  Breath"  he  uses  the  word 
pnciiina  in  place  of  mantcia,  "trance,"  as  the  latter  word  would  be 
too  explicit  for  allegorical  purposes.)  Each  of  these  four  states  of 
seership  has  a  subjective  and  an  objective  phase  on  the  plane  to 
which  it  relates ;  and  this  is  symbolized  by  the  many  exterior  and 
interior  eyes  of  the  Beings.  As  already  explained,  the  Nous  has  its 
"reflector"  in  each  of  the  four  somatic  divisions.  As  macrocosmic 
powers,  the  four  Beings  are  mystically  the  four  quarters  of  the 
zodiac,  the  four  arms,  so  to  say,  of  the  sun ;  and  as  solar  forces  each 
is  a  septenate,  radiating  from  a  focal  point  into  the  six  directions 
of  space.  Similarly,  the  time-periods  are  divided  into  fourths,  as 
the  year,  which  has  four  seasons,  each  containing  three  months, 
these  being  again  subdivided  into  bright  and  dark  fortnights,  mak- 
ing twenty-four  such  periods,  corresponding  to  the  twenty-four 
hours  of  the  day.  The  forces  which,  whether  in  the  macrocosm  or 
the  microcosm,  govern  successively  these  various  time-periods  are 
the  twenty- four  "very  old  men"  ( prcshytcroi),  the  Ancients,  and 
they  are  identical  with  the  twenty-four  wings  of  the  four  Beings. 


3i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  glassy  sea  is  the  aether  speciaHzed  in  the  brain ;  the  aura  of 
the  chakras  being  represented  by  the  seven  torches  or  Breaths. 

Ch.  IV.  9-1 1 

9  And  as  often  as  the  Beings  shall  give  glory,  honor  and  thanks 
to  the  [God]  seated  on  the  throne,  to  him  who  lives  throughout  the 
seons  of  the  aeons,  10  the  twenty- four  Ancients  shall  fall  down 
[successively]  in  front  of  the  [God]  seated  on  the  throne,  worship- 
ping him  who  lives  throughout  the  aeons  of  the  a^ons,  and  letting 
fall  their  crowns  in  front  of  the  throne,  saying: 

II  "Worthy  thou  art,  our  Master  and  our  God,  to  receive  the 
glory,  the  honor  and  the  force ;  for  thou  didst  bring  into  existence 
the  universe,  and  through  thy  will  it  exists  and  was  established." 

COMMENTARY 

The  forces  preside  in  turn  over  the  time-periods ;  thus  in  the 
human  aura  a  tattva  rules  each  hour,  its  particular  psychic  color 
predominating  in  the  aura  during  that  time.  Hence  the  Ancients 
are  represented  as  worshipping  before  the  throne,  each  making 
obeisance  in  turn  and  throwing  down  his  crown,  giving  over  his 
rule  to  the  next.  The  Jewish  priests  were  divided  into  twenty-four 
classes,  or  ''courses,"  each  of  which  in  its  turn  officiated  in  the 
temple. 

II 

THE  FIRST  OF  THE  SEVENFOLD  CONQUESTS- 
THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  LIVING  WATER 

The  Book  of  the  Lesser  Mysteries 
Chapter  v.  i,  2 

I  I  saw  on  the  right  hand  of  the  [God]  seated  on  the  throne  a 
scroll,  written  inside  and  on  the  back,  securely  sealed  with  seven 
seals.  2  And  I  saw  a  strong  Divinity  proclaiming  with  a  great 
voice : 

"Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  scroll  and  force  open  its  seals?" 


THE  INITIATION  OF  JOANNES  319 

COMMENTARY 

The  scroll  is  a  mysterious  document  which  it  has  taken  the  God 
aeons  to  write,  a  Bible  which,  when  rightly  read,  discloses  cosmic 
and  divine  mysteries.  It  is  simply  the  human  body,  and  its  seals 
are  the  force-centres  wherein  radiates  the  for- 
mative force  of  the  Logos.  These  seals  are 
the  same  as  the  seven  Societies  and  the  lamp- 
stands.  The  expression  "written  inside  and  on 
the  back"  refers  to  the  cerebro-spinal  axis  and 
the  great  sympathetic  system.  These  psycho- 
physiological subjects  pertained  to  the  Lesser 
Mysteries.  ^^^^ 

The  "strong  Divinity,"  as  shown  by  the  attributive  adjective,  is 
the  fifth  Solar  Regent,  ndana,  the  Lord  of  Time,  the  revealer  of 
the  secret  instructions. 

The  Chrestos  Is  Conqueror  of  the  Seven  Breaths 

Ch.  v.  3-5 

3  No  one — in  the  sky,  on  the  earth,  or  under  the  earth — was  able 
to  open  the  scroll,  or  [even]  to  see  it.  4  I  wept  much  because  no 
worthy  one  was  found  to  open  the  scroll,  or  [even]  to  see  it !  5 
One  of  the  Ancients  says  to  me : 

"Do  not  weep.  Behold!  the  Lion,  he  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  the 
root  of  David,  has  conquered:  [he  is  worthy]  to  open  the  scroll  and 
its  seven  seals." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  loannes  indulges  in  one  of  the  sarcastic  hyperboles  that  are 
not  infrequent  in  the  Fourth  Evangel.  Those  unable  to  open  the 
chakras  are  usually  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  body  is  the  lyre  of 
Apollon,  the  instrument  of  the  Sun-Logos,  and  therefore  do  not 
see  it  in  its  real  nature.  Yet  in  his  day  spiritual  blindness  probably 
was  less  prevalent  than  in  the  present  age,  applied  to  which  his 
statement  becomes  more  nearly  literal  than  hyperbolic. 


320  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Lion  is,  of  course,  Leo,  which  is  also  the  sign  of  Juda.  The 
''root"  of  man  is  his  spiritual  Self;  for  the  mystical  "tree  of  life," 
man,  is  the  inverted  asJivattha  tree,  which  has  its  roots  in  the 
heavens  and  its  branches  on  the  earth :  therefore  "the  root  of  Da- 
vid" is  David  reincarnated ;  but  this  should  be  taken  in  a  mystical 
sense,  as  lesous  is  a  purely  mythical  personage,  the  hero  of  a  Dio- 
nysiac  drama  whom  the  founders  of  Christianity  metamorphosed 
into  a  Jewish  Messiah. 

The  Chrestos  Receives  the  Sealed  Book  of  the  Lesser  Mysteries 

Cii.  V.  6,  7 

6  I  saw  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  the  four  Beings,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  Ancients,  there  was  a  little  Ram  standing,  as  if  it 
had  been  sacrificed,  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  which  are 
the  seven  Breaths  of  the  God,  sent  off  into  all  the  earth.  7  He  came 
— he  has  taken  [the  scroll]  from  the  right  hand  of  [the  God]  seated 
on  the  throne ! 

COMMENTARY 

The  Greek  word  arnion,  which  is  etymologically  akin  to  the 
Latin  arics,  signifies  "a  young  ram,"  and  as  used  in  the  text  it  is  a 
variant  of  the  zodiacal  Ram,  Krios.  The  word  "lamb"  is  sup- 
posedly more  poetic  than  "ram";  but  as  the  Lamb  of  the  text  is  a 
male,  the  sense  is  the  same.  The  Ram,  Aries,  is  a  reduplication  of 
the  Sun ;  and  the  "little  Ram"  here  is  identical  with  the  "Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Juda,"  since  the  sign  Leo  is  the  sole  domicile  of  the 
Sun,  and  Aries  is  the  place  of  his  highest  exalta- 
tion. Microcosmically,  Leo  corresponds  to  the 
sahasrdra  chakra,  the  "third  eye,"  and  Aries  to  the 
nimbus,  or  cerebral  radiance.  This  Ram  is  the 
Agnus  Dei  incarnated  Nous,  the  intellectual  Sun,  which  may 

be  regarded  as  the  Third  Logos— man  as  he  is  on  earth.  The  horns 
and  eyes  are  the  seven  noetic  powers  of  action  and  the  seven  noetic 
perceptive  faculties.  Thus  the  Ram  represents  the  neophyte,  whose 
inner  nature  is  awakening,  and  who  is  about  to  undergo  the  per- 
fecting, or  initiatory,  ordeals. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


321 


Ch.  V.  8-10 

8  When  he  had  taken  the  scroll,  the  four  Beings  and  the  twenty- 
four  Ancients  fell  down  in  front  of  the  Ram,  having  each  a  lyre 
and  a  golden  libation-saucer  full  of  incense-offerings,  which  are 
the  prayers  of  the  holy 
devotees.  9  And  they 
chant  a  new  lyric,  say- 
ing: 

"Worthy  art  thou  to 
take  the  scroll  and  to 
open  its  seals ;  for  thou 
wast  sacrificed,  and 
didst  buy  for  the  God 
with  thy  blood  [the 
good  qualities]  from 
every  tribe,  tongue,  na- 
tion and  people,  10 
and  didst  make  them 
[to  be]  a  realm  and 
sacrificers  to  our  God ; 
and  they  are  ruling  on 
the  earth." 


COMMENTARY 

Each  of  the  Ancients, 
as  here  described,  has 
a  saucer,  the  phialc,  a 
discous  cup  used  in 
pouring  out  drink-offer- 


Apollon 


After  Flaxman 


ings  to  the  Gods,  and  also,  like  Apollon,  has  a  lyre.  The  word 
kithara  is  more  correctly  rendered  "lyre"  than  "harp";  for  the 
kitJiara  (whence  the  English  words  "cithern"  and  "guitar")  differed 
but  little  from  the  lyra.  The  phialc  symbolizes  the  chakra  ("disk"), 
or  ganglion,  and  the  lyre  the  nerve-fibres  connected  with  it.  Each 
chakra  has  its  distinctive  quality,  color,  sound  and  incense-odor,  all 


322  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  which  are  perceivable  by  the  psychic  senses.  The  four  symbols 
employed  in  the  four  conquests,  the  seal,  the  trumpet,  the  sickle  and 
the  libation-saucer,  appropriately  represent  the  chakras. 

The  neophyte  is  worthy  to  take  control  of  the  marvellous  psychic 
mechanism  of  the  body,  to  "conquer"  its  chakras,  tightening  its 
slack  organism  till  it  is  tense  and  vibrant  as  a  lyre  in  the  hands  of 
a  musician,  because  he  has  in  many  incarnations,  in  every  nation 
and  in  many  conditions  of  life,  acquired  the  nobler  characteristics 
of  each  and  moulded  them  into  a  character — a  kingdom,  truly, — 
in  which  they  are  the  ruling  elements. 

The  chorus  of  praise  by  the  four  Beings  and  the  twenty-four  An- 
cients is  the  first  of  the  seven  choruses  in  the  drama. 

Ch.  v.  11-14 

III  saw;  and  I  heard  a  voice  of  many  Divinities  around  the 
throne,  the  Beings  and  the  Ancients — the  number  of  them  was 
myriads  of  myriads  and  thousands  of  thousands,  — 12  saying  with 
a  great  voice : 

"Worthy  is  the  sacrificed  Ram  to  receive  the  force,  wealth,  skill, 
strength,  honor,  glory  and  praise." 

13  Every  existent  being  which  is  in  the  sky,  on  the  earth,  under 
the  earth,  and  on  the  sea — the  universe  summed  up  in  them — I 
heard  saying: 

"To  the  [God]  seated  on  the  throne,  and  to  the  Ram  be  the 
praise,  the  honor,  the  glory  and  the  dominion  throughout  the  aeons 
of  the  aeons !" 

14  And  the  four  Beings  said  "Amen.''  And  the  twenty-four 
Ancients  fell  down  and  worshipped  [the  God]. 

COMMENTARY 

The  three  paeans  chanted  in  praise  of  the  Conqueror  and  his  God 
are  in  accordance  with  the  Greek  custom  of  chanting  paeans  to 
Apollon,  the  Sun-God,  before  and  after  battle  or  before  any  solemn 
undertaking;  and  they  are  very  appropriate  here,  since  the  Con- 
queror, the  Lion-Ram,  stands  for  the  Nous,  or  microcosmic  Sun, 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  323 

and  having  taken  the  scroll  he  is  about  to  undergo  the  ordeals  of 
initiation ;  and  the  word  lesous,  which  is  but  a  mystery-name  for 
the  Nous,  has  a  most  suspicious  resemblance  to  leios,  the  epithet 
applied  to  Apollon  because  he  was  invoked  in  the  paeans  by  the  reit- 
erated cry  "le,"  hailing  him  as  the  "Savior."  lesous  is  probably 
leios  raised  to  888,  the  Gnostic  Ogdoad  (the  manifested  Logos)  in 
triune  form.  In  the  Apocalypse,  as  also  in  the  Gospels,  lesous  (Dio- 
nysos)  combines  in  himself  the  attributes  of  both  Apollon  and  Her- 
mes. The  latter  was  sometimes  pictured  riding  a  ram ;  he  is  natu- 
rally associated  with  the  sign  Aries,  of  which  Athena,  the  Goddess 
of  Wisdom,  is  the  Regent. 

The  Apocalypse  follows  the  style  of  the  Greek  tragedies  in  em- 
ploying choruses  to  divide  the  drama  into  acts.  Of  these  three 
choral  songs,  the  first  is  chanted  by  the  Beings  and  the  Ancients, 
and  in  the  second  the  lesser  Divinities  join  in ;  both  these  paeans 
being  in  praise  of  the  sacrificial  Ram;  while  the  third  song  is  a 
general  chorus  by  all  the  powers  and  potencies  of  the  universe,  the 
demigods  of  the  four  manifested  elements,  in  praise  of  the  Ram 
and  the  enthroned  God.  The  first  paean  is  merely  explanatory,  tell- 
ing why  the  neophyte  is  worthy  to  open  the  seals ;  the  second  is  an 
evocation  of  the  potencies  of  the  seven  planets;  and  the  third  is 
addressed  to  the  four  higher  planets  only.  All  this  means  simply 
that  the  practical  student  of  the  sacred  science,  the  neophyte,  is  here 
engaged  in  the  mystic  meditation :  with  exalted  mind  and  feeling 
he  evokes  the  parakletos  in  its  active  form  as  the  speirema,  the  ser- 
pent-force that  opens  the  seven  planetary  centres,  or  "seven  seals." 

The  Regent  of  the  Psychic  Centre 
Chapter  vi.  i,  2 

1  I  saw,  when  the  Ram  opened  one  of  the  seven  seals,  and  I 
heard  one  of  the  four  Beings  saying  as  with  a  voice  of  thunder: 

"Come!" 

2  I  saw;  and,  behold!  a  white  horse  [came  out].  The  [Divin- 
ity] who  was  riding  him  had  a  bow ;  to  him  was  given  a  crown,  and 
he  came  forth  a  conqueror,  and  that  he  might  keep  on  conquering. 


324 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


COMMENTARY 


This  seal  is  the  adhishthdtia  chakra,  the  prostatic,  where  the  posi- 
tive and  negative  currents  start.  It  corresponds  to  Sagittarius; 
hence  its  rider,  or  regent,  is  the  Bowman.  The  Guardian-Goddess 
of  this  sign  is  Artemis,  the  Roman  Diana,  Apolldn's  sister,  who  was 


Apollon  and  Artemis 


After  Flaxman 


sometimes  pictured  as  a  bearded  Goddess ;  together  they  represent 
the  male-female  or  androgynous  man.  This  chakra  belongs  to  the 
lowest  of  the  somatic  divisions;  yet,  as  the  white  horse,  that  di- 
vision outranks  the  others,  and  the  Bowman,  Apollon-Artemis,  is  the 
Conqueror  himself,  who  is  here  represented  as  starting  out  on  his 
conquests,  and  who  reappears  in  triumph  in  the  closing  scene  of  the 
drama.  For  the  Logos,  as  mirrored  in  the  material  world,  is  in- 
verted.    One  of  the  northern  paranatellons  of  Scorpio,  the  one  now 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  325 

called  Hercules,  but  which  originally  represented  the  Sun-God,  is 
depicted  upside  down  among  the  constellations.  In  the  ancient  rep- 
resentations of  this  solar  hero  he  is  armed  with  a  bow  and  arrows. 

The  Regent  of  the  Creative  Centre 
Ch.  VI.  3,  4 

3  When  he  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second  Being 
saying : 

"Come !" 

4  Another  horse,  fiery-red,  came  out.  To  the  [Divinity]  who 
was  riding  him  [authority]  was  given  to  take  away  peace  from  the 
earth — that  [men]  should  slaughter  one  another — and  to  him  was 
given  a  great  sword. 

COMMENTARY 

This  seal  is  the  epigastric  chakra,  and  its  sign  is  Scorpio,  the 
house  of  Mars,  the  God  of  War  and  Generation.  Scorpio  is  usually 
given  as  corresponding  to  the  generative  centres;  but  the  real  seat 
of  the  epithumetic  nature  is  the  solar  plexus.  The  red  horse  repre- 
sents the  abdominal  somatic  division,  and  its  rider,  or  regent,  who  is 
passion  personified,  appears  later  in  the  drama  in  the  role  of  the  red 
Dragon,  who  is  identified  with  Satan  and  Diabolos,  the  "Devil." 

The  Regent  of  the  Phrenic  Centre 

Ch.  VI.  5,  6 

5  When  he  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third  Being  saying : 
"Come!" 

I  saw;  and,  behold!  a  black  horse  [came  out].  The  [Divinity] 
who  was  riding  him  had  a  balance  in  his  hand.  6  I  heard  as  it  were 
a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  Beings  saying: 

"A  ration  of  wheat  for  a  denarius,  and  three  rations  of  barley 
for  a  denarius— diwd  do  scant  justice  to  the  olive-oil  and  the  wine!" 

COMMENTARY 

Here  it  is  the  cardiac  ehakra  that  is  opened;  it  corresponds  to 
Libra,  and  the  regent  of  this  somatic  division  is  the  Weigher,  the 


32(5  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

discursive  lower  mind.  Although  no  actual  thinking  process  takes 
place  in  the  heart,  a  distinction  is  drawn  between  the  spiritual  mind, 
or  pure  intellection,  and  the  unspiritual  mind,  or  that  portion  of  the 
intellectual  nature  which  is  tainted  by  psychic  emotions  and  carnal 
desires,  or,  in  other  words,  between  the  mind  that  reflects  the  light 
which  comes  from  above,  from  the  Nous,  and  the  mind  that  absorbs 
the  influences  that  come  from  below,  from  the  animal  nature.  This 
lower  intellectual  sphere  may  include  the  greatest  culture,  with 
admirable  attainments  in  scientific  research  and  in  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge  along  conventional  lines,  yet  with  little  or  no  spirit- 
ual insight  or  philosophic  depth  of  thought;  hence  it  is  depicted  in 
the  allegory  as  a  semi- famine,  a  scarcity  of  rations.  The  parsimo- 
nious Weigher  who  rides  the  black  horse  appears  later  in  the  drama 
as  the  Beast,  the  marine  monster  in  whom  fanciful  theology  sees 
the  Anti-Christ. 

The  Regent  of  the  Noetic  Centre 

Ch.  VI.  7,  8 

7  When  he  opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 
fourth  Being,  saying: 

"Come!" 

8  I  saw;  and,  behold!  a  dun  horse  [came  out].  The  [Divinity] 
who  was  riding  him — his  name  was  Death,  and  Plouton  went  along 
with  him.  To  them  was  given  authority  over  the  fourth  of  the 
earth,  to  kill  with  sword,  famine  and  pestilence,  and  by  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  earth. 

COMMENTARY 

The  laryngeal  chakra  is  the  highest  of  the  ones  belonging  strictly 
to  the  sympathetic  system,  the  ones  above  it  being  in  the  brain.  It 
is  here  given  as  the  regent  of  the  highest  of  the  somatic  divisions, 
the  "sky,"  or  rather  the  lozver  sky,  for  the  cerebral  region  is  termed 
in  the  Apocalypse  the  mid-sky,  or  zenith,  as  being  the  abode  of  the 
God.  Plato,  in  the  Phaidros  (p.  253),  employs  in  his  allegory  two 
horses,  answering  to  the  intellectual  and  the  epithumetic  natures, 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  327 

the  Nous  being  the  charioteer;  but  usually  the  chariot  of  the  Sun 
was  pictured  with  four  horses.  The  constellation  Auriga,  the 
Charioteer  (Heniochos),  is  the  northern  paranatellon  of  Taurus. 

The  vocal  apparatus  is,  mystically,  the  creative  organ  of  the 
Logos ;  and  for  this  and  other  reasons  the  white  and  the  dun  horses 
are  given  with  their  attributes  interchanged.  The  dun  horse  repre- 
sents the  lowest  of  the  somatic  divisions;  and  as  sex  exists  only  in 
the  physical  and  psychic  worlds,  the  two,  Death  and  Hades  (Plou- 
ton),  the  generative  principle  on  the  two  planes,  are  his  riders,  who 
slay  with  sword,  famine,  materialism  and  animal  passions.  They 
reappear  later  in  the  form  of  the  two-horned  bogus  Lamb,  who  is 
called  the  Pseudo-Seer. 

The  Regent  of  the  Gnostic  Centre 
Ch.  VI.  9-1 1 

9  When  he  opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  underneath  the  altar  the 
souls  of  those  who  had  been  sacrificed  because  of  the  arcane  doc- 
trine of  the  God,  and  because  of  the  evidence  which  they  had. 
10  They  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  saying: 

''How  long,  O  thou  the  Supreme,  the  Holy  and  the  True,  dost 
thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  upon  those  who  dwell  on  the 
earth?" 

II  White  robes  were  given  them  severally,  and  it  was  said  to 
them  that  they  should  keep  still  yet  a  little  time,  until  their  fellow- 
slaves  and  also  their  brothers,  who  would  be  killed  even  as  they 
were,  should  have  finished  [their  course]. 

COMMENTARY 

The  fifth  seal  corresponds  to  the  sign  Cancer  and  the  djna  chakra, 
or  cavernous  plexus,  which  latter  is  closely  connected  with  the 
pituitary  body,  the  mcmhrum  virile,  so  to  say,  of  the  brain.  The 
atrophied  ("sacrificed")  brain-centres  are  partially  aroused  by  the 
speirenia  at  this  stage ;  but  they  are  suppressed  until  the  other  cen- 
tres (their  "brothers")  have  all  been  brought  into  action  and  then 
"killed,"  that  is,  placed  in  abeyance  while  the  cerebral  centres  are 


328  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

being  awakened.  They  receive  "white  robes,"  however,  for  at  this 
centre  the  currents  bifurcate  and  their  hght  suffuses  the  brain. 

During  the  cycle  of  reincarnation,  all  the  chakras  have  been  slain 
by  the  gross  elements  of  the  material,  sensuous  life;  yet  they  retain 
the  "evidence"  of  things  spiritual. 

Although  Leo  precedes  Cancer,  the  order  in  which  the  chakras 
are  awakened  is  different ;  for  Capricorn  and  Leo  belong  rather  to 
the  spinal  axis  than  to  the  sympathetic  system,  and  are  the  two  poles 
of  the  former. 

The  Regent  of  the  Perfective  Centre 
Ch.  VI.  12-17 

12  I  saw  when  he  opened  the  sixth  seal;  and,  behold!  there  came 
to  be  a  great  earthquake;  the  sun  became  dark  as  a  sack  [woven  of 
camel's]  hair;  the  moon  became  as  blood,  13  and  the  stars  of  the 
sky  fell  to  the  earth,  as  a  fig-tree  drops  her  first-crop  figs  when 
shaken  by  a  violent  wind.  14  The  sky  was  removed  like  a  scroll 
being  rolled  up;  and  every  mountain  and  island — they  were  moved 
from  their  places!  15  The  rulers  of  the  earth,  the  very  great,  the 
commanders,  the  rich,  and  the  mighty,  and  every  slave  and  free- 
man, hid  themselves  in  the  caves  and  among  the  crags  of  the  moun- 
tains ;    16  and  they  kept  saying  to  the  mountains  and  the  crags : 

"Fall  on  us  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  the  [God]  seated  on  the 
throne  and  from  the  passion  of  the  Ram!  17  For  the  great  day  of 
his  passion  has  come,  and  who  can  stand  firm?" 

COMMENTARY 

This  sixth  seal  is  the  muladhara  chakra,  which  lies  at  the  base  of 
the  spinal  cord  and  is  the  starting-point  of  the  central  current,  the 
sushnmnd,  the  regenerative  force,  here  called  the  orgc  (fecundating 
energy)  of  the  Ram,  the  Nous.  Upon  the  outpouring  of  this  fiery 
electric  force  into  the  brain,  the  mind  becomes  blank  and  the  novice 
is  conscious  only  of  blind  terror;  this  is  allegorized  as  the  darken- 
ing of  the  sun  (the  mind),  the  falling  of  the  stars  (the  thoughts), 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  329 

the  vanishing  of  the  sky  (the  concept  of  space),  and  the  panic  of 
the  earth-dwellers  (the  lower  forces  and  faculties). 

The  Five  Solar  Regents  and  the  Differentiated  Forces 
Chapter  vii.  1-3 

I  After  these  [ordeals]  I  saw  four  Divinities  standing-  at  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth,  dominating  the  four  winds  of  the  earth 
so  that  no  wind  should  blow  on  the  earth  or  the  sea,  or  on  any  tree. 
2  And  I  saw  another  [dominant]  Divinity  ascend  from  the  birth- 
place of  the  sun,  having  the  signet-ring  of  the  living  God ;  and  he 
cried  out  with  a  great  voice  to  the  four  Divinities  to  whom  [author- 
ity] was  given  to  punish  the  earth  and  the  sea,  3  saying: 

"Do  not  treat  roughly  the  earth,  the  sea  or  the  trees  till  we  shall 
have  sealed  [with  his  signet-ring]  the  slaves  of  our  God  on  their 
foreheads." 

COMMENTARY 

These  five  Divinities  are  the  noetic  Regents  or  the  prdnas,  the 
solar  life-winds.  They  are  represented  in  the  zodiac  by  the  signs 
Gemini,  Taurus,  Aries,  Pisces  and  Aquarius,  with  their  respective 
planets.  The  four  who  guard  the  quarters  are  the  four  powers  of 
the  Nous;  and  the  fifth,  who  rises  up  from  the  sun's  place  of  birth 
(anatolc),  is  the  representative  of  the  Nous  himself,  and  therefore 
bears  the  signet  of  the  Life-God.  They  correspond  to  the  "five 
bright  powers"  of  the  Upanishads,  four  of  which  are  regents  of  the 
four  directions  of  space,  while  the  fifth  "goes  upward  to  immortal- 
ity." It  is  these  noetic  forces  that  record  in  the  aura  of  man  (his 
"scroll  of  life")  his  every  thought  and  deed;  and,  as  these  auric 
impressions,  like  phonographic  records,  automatically  reproduce  the 
original  thoughts  and  emotions  whenever  the  forces  again  act  upon 
them,  they  thus  produce  an  almost  endless  concatenation  of  cause 
and  effect,  of  retributive  action.  Therefore,  by  awakening  the  oc- 
cult forces  of  his  nature  the  neophyte  invokes  this  iron  law  of 
retribution,  and  all  the  good  and  evil  elements  of  his  nature  are 
arrayed  against  each  other  for  the  final  conflict.     In  the  allegory 


330  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  lower  principles  are  to  be  chastised,  and  the  higher  ones  are  to 
be  given  the  seal  of  the  God's  approval. 

The  command  to  the  four  Regents  not  to  treat  roughly  (literally, 
"injure")  the  earth,  sea  and  trees  refers  to  the  state  of  unruffled 
calm  which  must  be  maintained  during  the  mystic  meditation. 

The  spinal  section  (consisting  of  five  ankylosed  vertebrae), 
which  is  termed  the  as  sacrum,  "sacred  bone,"  hieron  osteon,  as  it 
was  termed  by  the  Greeks,  is  in  Rabbinical  legends  called  lu2,  and 
said  to  be  the  indestructible  germ  from  which  the  human  form  is 
reconstructed  at  the  resurrection. 

Ch.  VII.  4-8 

4  I  heard  the  number  of  those  who  were  sealed,  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  thousand,  sealed  out  of  all  the  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel :  5  of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were  sealed  twelve  thousand ;  of  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  twelve  thousand  ;  of  the  tribe  of  Gad,  twelve  thou- 
sand ;  6  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of 
Naphtali,  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  twelve  thou- 
sand ;  7  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  twelve  thousand ;  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  twelve  thousand; 
8  of  the  tribe  of  Zebulon,  twelve  thousand;  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
twelve  thousand;  and  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  twelve  thousand. 

COMMENTARY 

The  tribes  stand  for  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  Juda  for  Leo, 
Reuben  for  Aquarius,  Gad  for  Aries,  etc. ;  but  as  here  given  by 
loannes,  Joseph  is  substituted  for  Ephraim,  or  Taurus ;  and  Manas- 
seh, Joseph's  first-born  son,  replaces  Dan,  who  is  Scorpio.  This 
omission  of  Dan,  with  the  substitutions  by  which  Scorpio  is  shown 
to  be  derived  from  Taurus,  is  significant ;  for  Taurus  is  the  symbol 
of  celestial  creative  force,  and  Scorpio  that  of  the  generative  func- 
tion. The  Divinities  charged  with  the  seven  scourges  are,  astro- 
nomically, the  seven  Hyades,  a  star-group  in  the  constellation  Tau- 
rus. There  was  a  Jewish  tradition  that  from  the  tribe  of  Dan  was 
to  come  the  Anti-Messias ;  hence  the  substitution  of  the  paranatellon 
Aquila  for  Scorpio. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  331 

The  Liberated  Psychic  Forces — The  Pure  Ones  Risen  from 
the  Great  Sea  of  Life 

Ch.  VII.  9-12 

9  After  these  [things]  I  saw;  and,  behold!  a  vast  multitude, 
which  no  one  could  count,  from  among  every  people,  and  of  [all] 
tribes,  nations  and  tongues,  [were]  standing  before  the  throne  and 
before  the  Ram,  wearing  white  robes  and  [carrying]  palm-branches 
in  their  hands.     10  They  kept  crying  out  with  a  great  voice,  saying: 

"The  deliverance  is  to  our  God  who  is  sitting  on  the  throne,  and 
to  the  Ram !" 

II  All  the  Divinities  were  standing  in  a  circle  about  the  throne, 
the  Ancients  and  the  four  Beings ;  they  fell  on  their  faces  in  front 
of  the  throne,  and  worshipped  the  God,     1 2  saying : 

"Amen.  The  praise,  the  glory,  the  skill,  the  thanks,  the  honor, 
the  force  and  the  strength  be  to  our  God  throughout  the  aeons  of 
the  aeons!    Amen." 

COMMENTARY 

This  is  the  third  of  the  seven  choruses;  the  paean,  or  verse  of 
praise,  is  chanted  by  the  liberated  elements,  and  the  chorus  by  the 
ruling  powers  of  the  three  worlds — the  Beings,  Ancients  and  Di- 
vinities forming  three  concentric  circles  about  the  throne,  and  thus 
representing  as  many  planes  of  manifestation.  In  the  benediction 
the  attributes  of  all  the  seven  planets  are  ascribed  to  the  Sun-God. 

Ch.  VII.  13-17 

13  One  of  the  ancients  responded,  saying  to  me: 

"These  who  are  wearing  the  white  robes — who  are  they,  and 
whence  did  they  come  ?" 

14  I  said  to  him : 

"My  Master,  you  know." 

He  said  to  me : 

"These  are  the  [Conquerors]  coming  out  of  the  great  ordeal. 
They  washed  their  robes  and  bleached  them  in  the  Ram's  blood. 
15  Because  of  this,  they  are  before  the  throne  of  the  God;  and  they 


7,7,2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

are  serving  him  day  and  night  in  his  adytum,  and  the  [Master] 
seated  on  the  throne  will  spread  his  tent-temple  over  them.  i6  They 
will  hunger  no  more,  thirst  no  more;  neither  will  [the  rays  of]  the 
sun  beat  down  on  them,  nor  any  scorching  heat.  17  For  the  Ram 
who  is  in  the  middle  of  the  throne  will  shepherd  them  and  guide 
them  to  springs  of  waters  of  life,  and  the  God  will  wipe  away  every 
tear  from  their  eyes." 

COMMENTARY 

The  great  ordeal  of  the  soul,  or  Logos,  is  its  incarceration  in  the 
carnal  body,  not  merely  for  the  term  of  one  short  lifetime,  but  dur- 
ing a  long  series  of  incarnations  throughout  the  aeons  of  genera- 
tion; but  the  Logos  has  its  own  mighty  purpose  in  thus  crucifying 
itself  by  assuming  the  human  form,  descending  into  the  spheres  of 
generation  and  passing  through  the  vast  "cycle  of  necessity":  it 
builds  up  for  itself,  out  of  the  elements  of  the  lower  worlds,  an 
outer  self,  a  being  formed  of  the  "dust  of  the  earth,"  the  refuse  of 
past  cycles,  yet  having  within  it  the  breath  of  the  God;  and  then  by 
unremitting  toil  throughout  the  reons  it  refines  and  transmutes  the 
elements  of  this  creature  (who  is  the  carnal,  animal-human  man) 
until  it  redeems  it  and  it  becomes  one  with  the  divine  individuality. 
These  purified  and  redeemed  principles  of  the  lower  self  are  the 
countless  host  who,  now  that  the  aspirant  has  entered  upon  tiie  cycle 
of  initiation,  the  final  "perfecting"  or  "finishing"  labor,  are  coming 
out  of  "the  great  ordeal,"  singing  paeans  of  praise  to  the  sacrificial 
Ram,  the  Crucified,  and  to  the  enthroned  Self,  the  Eternal,  who  is 
beyond  change  and  time,  and  therefore  "uncrucified." 

The  Regent  of  the  Divine  Centre 

Chapter  viii.  i 

I  When  he  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  came  to  be  silence  in 
the  sky  for  about  half  an  hour. 

COMMENTARY 

The  seventh  seal  is  the  saJiasrdra  chakra,  to  which  corresponds 
the  sign  Leo,  the  sole  domicile  of  the  Sun.     This  chakra,  the  co- 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  333 

narium,  or  pineal  body,  is  the  "third  eye"  of  the  seer — that,  and 
much  more.  It  is  the  focal  point  of  all  the  forces  of  the  nervous 
system  and  of  the  aura ;  here  they  come  to  an  equilibrium,  and  here 
reigns  the  mystic  Silence.  During  the  meditation,  as  each  chakra 
is  awakened  the  neophyte  sees  its  corresponding  psychic  color ;  and 
at  this  seventh  centre  the  colors  intermingle  as  in  an  opal,  with  an 
incessant  glittering  of  white  light  playing  as  on  the  facets  of  a 
diamond.  The  psychic  senses  of  smell  and  hearing  begin  to  be 
aroused,  so  that  odors  as  of  incense  become  perceptible,  and  mys- 
terious sounds  are  heard ;  then  with  a  shock  that  loannes  here  com- 
pares to  an  earthquake  the  forces  start  upon  the  circuit  of  the  seven 
brain-centres,  each  of  which,  when  the  current  reaches  it,  produces  a 
vibrant  sound  in  the  aura,  the  "trumpet-call"  of  the  allegory.  This 
awakening  of  the  centres  is  the  second  of  the  four  conquests. 


Ill 

THE  SECOND  OF  THE  SEVENFOLD  CONOUESTS- 
THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  MIGHTY  AIR 

The  Conquest  of  the  Psychic  Principle 
Ch.  VIII.  2-7 

2  I  saw  the  seven  Divinities  who  stand  before  the  God.  To  them 
were  given  seven  trumpets.  3  Came  another  Divinity  and  stationed 
himself  above  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer;  and  to  him  was 
given  much  incense,  that  he  might  offer  it,  with  the  prayers  of  all 
the  devotees,  upon  the  golden  altar  in  front  of  the  throne.  4  The 
smoke  of  the  incense,  with  the  prayers  of  the  devotees,  went  up  in 
front  of  the  God  out  of  the  Divinity's  hand.  5  The  Divinity  took 
the  censer  and  filled  it  with  the  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  [the  fire] 
into  the  earth :  there  came  to  be  voices,  thunders,  lightnings  and  an 
earthquake.  6  The  seven  Divinities  having  the  seven  trumpets 
made  themselves  ready  to  give  the  trumpet-calls. 

7  The  first  [Divinity]  gave  the  trumpet-call.  There  came  to  be 
hail  and  fire,  mixed  with  blood;  they  were  cast  into  the  earth,  and 


334  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  third  of  the  earth  was  burnt  up,  the  third  of  the  trees  was  burnt 
up,  and  all  pale-green  grass  was  burnt  up. 

COMMENTARY 

The  sounding  of  the  trumpets  follows  the  exact  order  of  the 
opening  of  the  seals ;  and  the  two  series  correspond  throughout,  the 
zodiacal  signs  being  repeated  as  related  to  the  brain-centres. 

Of  the  four  planes  of  consciousness,  the  fourth,  the 
physical,  was  stilled,  or  temporarily  suppressed,  by  the 
opening  of  the  "seals,"  and  the  psychic  became  active ;  now, 
by  the  awakening  of  the  noetic  centres  the  psychic  con- 
sciousness—  "the  third"  —  is  in  turn  placed  in  abeyance. 
The  colors  manifested  by  the  centres  of  the  sympathetic 
system  are  psychic ;  the  sounds  heard  upon  the  opening  of 
the  brain-centres  pertain  to  a  higher  plane. 

The  "hail"  is  a  semi-condensation  of  the  lunar  element, 
or  aether,  "the  good  water  of  the  Moon" ;  the  "fire"  is  the 
solar  force,  "the  good  fire  of  the  Sun" ;  and  the  "blood"  is 
the  auric  fluid,  "the  blood  of  the  Logos."  These  three 
rumpe  gigj-j-iei-its  affect  the  lowest  of  the  divisions;  the  "trees"  are 
the  "two  olive-trees"  (the  dual  tree  of  life),  and  the  "grass"  is  the 
radiation  of  the  same  force  through  the  aureola.  They  are,  of 
course,  the  threefold  spcircma,  starting  on  its  course  through  the 
brain.  In  Luke  xii.  49  lesous  says,  "I  have  come  to  sow  (cast)  fire 
in  the  earth."  Dionysos  was  called  "the  sower  of  fire-seed,"  "the 
fire-thunderer,"  "the  spirit  that  roars  in  high  flame,"  and  "the  leader 
of  the  band  of  fire-breathing  planets." 

The  Conquest  of  the  Epithumetic  Principle 

Ch.  VIII.  8,  9 

8  The  second  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  [The  world- 
navel],  like  a  great  flaming  mountain  of  fire,  was  cast  into  the  sea; 
and  the  third  of  the  sea  came  to  be  blood.  9  The  third  of  the  ex- 
istent beings  in  the  sea — having  souls— died;  and  the  third  of  the 
ships  were  wrecked. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  335 

COMMENTARY 

In  most  of  the  ancient  mythologies  some  particular  place,  usually 
a  mountain  or  volcano,  was  designated  as  the  navel,  or  true  centre, 
of  the  earth.  The  active  volcano  of  the  text  is  evidently  the  same 
symbol.  The  navel  is  the  seat  of  the  tejas  ("fire")  tatti'a,  manifested 
in  the  lower  phase  as  desire,  and  in  the  higher  as  will.  Intense  long- 
ing becomes  objectivized  in  the  subtile  elements,  the  external  forms 
thus  created  being  ensouled  by  the  dominant  desires  that  called  them 
into  existence.  A  congeries  of  these  illusionary  forms  sent  out  into 
the  psychic  sea  is  a  "ship"  in  the  language  of  the  allegory. 

The  Conquest  of  the  Pseudo-Rational  Principle 

Ch.  VIII.  10,  II 

10  The  third  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  There  fell  from 
the  sky  a  great  star  flaming  like  a  torch.  It  fell  on  the  third  of  the 
rivers  and  on  the  springs  of  waters.  1 1  The  name  of  the  star  is 
called  "Wormwood";  and  the  third  of  the  waters  became  worm- 
wood, and  many  of  the  men  died  of  the  waters,  because  they  were 
made  bitter. 

COMMENTARY 

The  falling  star  is  Aphrodite  (Venus),  -q  ^oxr^opoq  (Lucifer), 
the  torch-bearing  Goddess.  The  force  it  here  symbolizes,  the  vayu 
tattva,  afifects  the  lower  mind,  or  rational  mind  befogged  by  the 
desires  and  passions  of  the  emotional  psychic  nature;  and  the  em- 
bittering of  the  waters  alludes  to  the  psychological  law  that  all 
pleasure  eventually  reacts  and  becomes  pain;  yet,  in  the  end,  this 
bitter  water  becomes  transmuted  into  the  "sweet  water  of  life" 
when  man's  nature  is  purified. 

The  Conquest  of  the  Pseudo-Noetic  Principle 

H.    VIII.    12 

12  The  fourth  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  The  third  of  the 
sun  was  stricken,  also  the  third  of  the  m.oon  and  the  third  of  the 


336  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

stars,  so  that  the  third  of  them  should  be  darkened,  and  the  day 
should  not  give  light  for  the  third  of  it,  and  likewise  the  night. 

COMMENTARY 

All  mental  action  is  here  suspended  on  the  psychic  or  subjective 
plane,  as  well  as  on  the  material  or  objective.  On  each  plane,  in 
turn,  the  forces  have  to  be  brought  into  equilibrium,  so  that  they 
neutralize  each  other,  and  then  the  consciousness  rises  to  the  next 
higher  plane. 

The  force  pertaining  to  this  centre  is  the  dkasha  tattva;  cos- 
mically  it  is  the  upper  air,  ait  her,  the  region  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

Ch.  VIII.  13 

13  I  saw;  and  I  heard  the  lone  Eagle,  flying  in  mid-sky,  saying 
with  a  great  voice : 

"Woe,  w^oe,  woe  to  those  dwelling  on  the  earth,  from  the  remain- 
ing trumpet-voices  of  the  three  Divinities  who  are  about  to  give  the 
trumpet-call !" 

COMMENTARY 

The  first  four  cerebral  chakras  (symbolized  by  the  trumpets) 
react  upon  the  four  somatic  divisions;  the  three  higher  ones  are 
related  to  the  dual  nervous  system  and  the  aura,  broadly  speaking ; 
but  in  a  more  special  sense  they  are  analogues  of  the  male  creative 
triad.  Comment  on  this  subject,  which  is  a  delicate  one,  though 
involving  nothing  that  is  in  the  slightest  degree  impure,  must  be 
necessarily  brief  and  somewhat  superficial  in  a  work  that  is  de- 
signed for  general  circulation.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  the 
lower  man  is  an  inverted  image  of  the  higher;  and  from  this  it  fol- 
lows that  the  highest  spiritual  centres  are  directly  related  to  the  low- 
est, the  creative  centres  on  the  material  plane.  For  this  reason  the 
three  trumpet-calls  are  announced  as  "woes"  by  the  Eagle,  the 
fourth  of  the  Zoa,  who  is  the  prototype  of  Scorpio.  It  can  not  be 
too  emphatically  reiterated  that  the  sex-function  exists  only  in  the 
physical  and  psychic  worlds ;  and  the  impure  forces  related  to  it  are 
not  employed  in  any  way  or  for  any  purpose  whatever  by  the  fol- 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  337 

lowers  of  the  Gnosis.  The  abuse  of  this  function  by  diverting  the 
procreative  forces  into  psychic  channels  is  the  most  terrible  of  all 
crimes,  the  punishment  of  which  by  natural  law  is  the  annihilation 
of  the  individuality,  the  "second  death" ;  for  the  connecting  link 
between  the  divine  and  the  human  soul  is  destroyed  by  the  abnormal 
practices  of  phallic  sorcery.  No  one  should  attempt  to  make  any 
practical  use  of  the  subtile  forces  unless  he  is  firmly  resolved  to 
renounce  forever  the  "spheres  of  generation."  To  utilize  the  gross 
forces  of  the  animal  nature  for  psychic  purposes  is  to  commit  moral 
suicide.  It  is  only  the  celibates,  who  preserve  the  utmost  purity  of 
mind  and  body,  thereby  regaining  the  complete  innocence  of  "little 
children,"  who  can  hope  to  "enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

The  Conquest  of  the  Pseudo-Gnostic  Principle 

Chapter  ix.  1-12 

I  The  fifth  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  I  saw  a  star  that  had 
fallen  from  the  sky  to  the  earth ;  and  to  him  was  given  the  key 
to  the  crater  of  the  abyss.  2  He  opened  the  crater  of  the  abyss,  and 
there  went  up  smoke  from  the  crater,  like  the  smoke  of  a  great  fur- 
nace. The  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by  the  smoke  from  the 
crater.  3  Out  of  the  smoke  came  locusts  upon  the  earth,  and  to 
them  was  given  power  as  the  scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power. 
4  It  was  said  to  them  that  they  should  not  injure  the  grass  of  the 
earth,  neither  anything  tender  green  nor  any  tree,  but  only  those 
men  who  do  not  have  the  seal  of  the  God  on  their  foreheads ;  5  and 
[the  command]  was  given  them  that  they  should  not  kill  them,  but 
that  they  should  be  tormented  five  months.  Their  torment  was  as 
a  scorpion's  torment  when  it  stings  a  man.  6  In  those  days  men 
will  seek  death,  and  find  it  not ;  they  will  long  to  die,  and  death  will 
keep  fleeing  from  them!  7  The  effigies  of  the  locusts  were  like 
horses  caparisoned  for  battle.  On  their  heads  were  [circlets]  like 
crowns  of  spurious  gold.  Their  faces  were  like  men's  faces,  8  but 
they  had  hair  like  women's  hair;  and  their  teeth  were  like  [the 
teeth]  of  lions.  9  They  had  cuirasses  like  iron  cuirasses.  The  voice 
of  their  wings  was  like  the  voice  of  [many]  war-chariots — of  many 


338 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


horses  galloping  into  battle.  lo  They  had  tails  like  scorpions,  and 
stings  were  in  their  tails.  Their  power  to  injure  men  was  five 
months.  1 1  They  had  over  them  as  ruler  the  Divinity  of  the 
Abyss;  his  name  in  Hebrew  is  Abaddon,  and  in  the  Greek  [mysti- 
cism] he  has  the  name  Apollyon. 

12  The  one  woe  has  passed.     Behold!  two  more  woes  are  com- 
ing after. 

COMMENTARY 


The  star  that  has  fallen  is 
Venus,  now  become  the  so-called 
"infernal  Lucifer,"  the  Hekate 
who  presides  over  the  abyss. 
This  abyss  is  represented  astro- 
nomically by  the  constellation 
Crater,  the  Cup,  the  mixing-bowl 
of  Dionysos.  It  appears  also  in 
the  Apocalypse  as  the  cup  held 
by  the  Woman  in  scarlet,  who 
simply  is  Hekate,  the  infernal 
aspect  of  both  Aphrodite  (Ve- 
nus) and  Artemis  (Diana),  the 
two  Goddesses  alike  symbolizing 
the  primordial  substance,  the 
Arche. 

The  Divinity  of  the  Abyss, 
who  is  the  "Destroyer"  and  the 
"Murderer,"  is  the  Pseudo-Lion, 
the  Beast — the  phrenic  mind  pol- 
luted by  the  carnal  passions ;  and 
his  hordes  of  scorpion-like  cav- 
alry are  impure  and  unholy 
thoughts.  The  "five  months"  are 
the  summer-time,  during  which 
period  the  passional  nature  is  more  active;  mystically  the  summer 
is  said  to  be  the  night  of  the  soul,  and  winter  its  day. 


Artemis 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  339 

The  Conquest  of  the  Perfective  Principle — The 
Four  Manifested  Solar  Powers 

Ch.  IX.  13-15 

13  The  sixth  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  I  heard  a  single 
voice  from  the  four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  in  front  of  the  God, 
14  [the  Master's  voice],  saying  to  the  sixth  Divinity,  who  had  the 
trumpet : 

"Turn  loose  the  four  Divinities  who  are  fettered  at  the  great 
river  Euphrates." 

15  The  four  Divinities  were  turned  loose,  who  had  been  made 
ready  throughout  the  hour,  day,  month  and  year,  that  they  should 
kill  the  third  of  men. 

COMMENTARY 

The  golden  altar  is  the  Nous,  or  higher  mind,  and  the  four  horns 
are  its  four  powers.  Gold  is  the  metal  of  the  sun,  and  the  four- 
horned  altar  is  but  a  different  symbol  for  the  sun  and  the  regents 
of  the  four  quarters.  The  four  Divinities  fettered  at  the  river 
Euphrates  (the  cerebro-spinal  axis)  are  the  four  manifested  prdnas, 
and  the  "single  voice"  represents  udana. 

Ch.  IX.  16-21 

16  The  number  of  the  armies  of  the  horsemen  [under  the  com- 
mand of  the  four  Divinities]  was  two  hundred  million — I  heard 
the  number  of  them.  17  Thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the  vision,  and 
their  riders,  having  cuirasses  fiery  [red],  smoky  blue  and  sulphur- 
ous [yellow]  :  the  heads  of  the  horses  were  like  the  heads  of  lions, 
and  from  their  mouths  kept  going  out  fire,  smoke  and  sulphur. 

18  By  these  three  scourges  were  killed  the  third  of  the  men— by 
the  fire,  the  smoke  and  the  sulphur  which  went  out  of  their  moutlis. 

19  For  the  powers  of  the  horses  are  in  their  mouths  and  in  their 
tails ;  for  their  tails  are  like  snakes,  and  have  heads,  and  with  them 
they  inflict  punishment.  20  The  rest  of  the  men,  who  were  not 
killed  by  these  scourges,  did  not  reform  from  the  works  of  their 
hands,  that  they  should  not  worship  the  spirits  and  the  images  of 


340  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

gold,  silver,  bronze,  stone  and  wood,  which  can  neither  see,  hear 
nor  walk,  21  And  they  did  not  reform  from  their  murders,  their 
sorceries,  their  prostitutions  or  their  thefts. 

COMMENTARY 

The  vast  armies  of  horsemen  in  armor  represent  the  limitless 
powers  of  the  Nous;  the  lion-heads  of  the  horses  indicating  their 
solar  character.  As  the  Mind  is  the  real  man,  so  in  the  allegory  the 
intellectual  powers  and  thoughts  are  represented  as  men,  the  armies 
of  the  Nous  destroying  the  evil,  false,  superstitious  thoughts  and 
tendencies  of  the  psychic  nature;  and  as  the  thoughts  of  the  carnal 
mind  are  concerned  largely  with  material  possessions,  such  thoughts 
are  referred  to  as  worshippers  of  idols. 

The  Unmanifested  Solar  Power,  and  the  Open  Book  of 
the  Greater  Mysteries 

Chapter  x.  1-4 

I  I  saw  another,  the  strong  Divinity,  coming  down  out  of  the 
sky,  wrapped  in  a  cloud,  and  a  rainbow  was  upon  his  head.  His 
face  was  [luminous]  like  the  sun,  and  his  feet  like  pillars  of  fire. 
2  In  his  hand  he  had  a  little  scroll  unrolled.  He  ])laced  his  right 
foot  on  the  sea,  and  the  left  on  the  earth,  3  and  cried  out  with  a 
great  voice,  as  a  lion  roars ;  and  when  he  cried  out,  seven  thunders 
uttered  voices  of  their  own.  4  And  when  the  seven  thunders 
uttered  [their  voices],  I  was  about  to  write  down  [the  teachings]  ; 
but  I  heard  a  voice  from  the  sky  saying  to  me : 

"Seal  up  [the  teachings]  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and 
do  not  write  them  down." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Divinity,  the  fifth  in  the  group,  is  uddna,  the  "upward  life- 
wind,"  and  therefore  corresponds  to  the  Nous,  the  intellectual  Sun, 
in  its  aspect  as  Hermes  the  Initiator.  This  fivefold  group  is  the 
same  as  that  which  appeared  upon  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal, 
save  that  here  the  five  prdnas  are  energizing  on  a  higher  plane. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  341 

That  the  voices  of  the  seven  thunders  were  mystery-teachings  is 
evident  from  the  injunction  by  the  Initiator  against  recording  them. 
They  relate  to  the  seven  vowels. 

Ch.  X  5-7 

5  The  Divinity  whom  I  saw  standing  on  the  sea  and  on  the  earth 
raised  his  right  hand  to  the  sky  6  and  swore  by  the  [God]  who 
lives  throughout  the  aeons  of  the  aeons,  who  brought  into  existence 
the  sky  and  what  is  in  it,  the  earth  and  what  is  in  it,  and  the  sea  and 
what  is  in  it,  that  Time  shall  be  no  more,  7  but  in  the  days  of  the 
voice  of  the  seventh  Divinity,  when  he  is  about  to  give  the  trumpet- 
call,  also  is  made  perfect  the  Mystery  of  the  God,  as  he  proclaimed 
to  his  slaves,  the  seers. 

COMMENTARY 

Time,  the  "image  of  eternity,"  rules  in  the  physical  and  psychic 
worlds,  the  earth  and  the  sea  of  the  allegory;  but  in  the  spiritual 
world,  the  mystic  "sky,"  there  is  the  timeless,  eternal  consciousness 
of  the  God.  The  seventh  trumpet-call  signalizes  the  opening  of 
that  "Mystery  of  the  God,"  the  "eye"  of  the  seer,  which  is  made 
perfect,  that  is,  restored  to  its  spiritual  functions,  by  the  action  of 
the  spcirema. 

Ch.  X.  8-1 1 

8  The  voice  that  I  heard  from  the  sky—  [I  heard  it]  again  speak- 
ing with  me,  and  saying : 

"Go;  take  the  little  scroll  unrolled  in  the  hand  of  the  Divinity 
who  is  standing  on  the  sea  and  on  the  earth." 

9  I  went  to  the  Divinity,  and  asked  him  to  give  me  the  little  scroll. 
He  said  to  me : 

"Take  it,  and  eat  it  up.  It  will  make  your  belly  bitter;  but  in 
your  mouth  it  will  be  sweet  as  honey." 

10  I  took  the  little  scroll  from  the  hand  of  the  Divinity,  and  ate  it 
up.  In  my  mouth  it  was  as  honey,  sweet ;  but  when  I  had  eaten  it  my 
belly  was  made  bitter.  11  And  [the  voices  of  the  seven  thunders] 
keep  saying  to  me : 


342  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"You  must  teach  again  in  opposition  to  many  nations,  peoples, 
tongues  and  rulers." 

COMMENTARY 

The  little  scroll  is  the  Gnosis,  imparted  to  the  neophyte  by  the 
Initiator — his  own  Logos.  When  the  instruction  is  assimilated, 
that  is,  carried  out  in  practice,  it  becomes  bitter  to  the  epithumetic 
nature,  since  it  inculcates  the  extirpation  of  every  impure  thought 
and  desire. 

Although  forbidden  to  record  the  utterances  of  the  seven  thun- 
ders (the  theurgic  teachings),  the  seer  is  under  an  obligation  to 
proclaim  the  true  philosophy  and  ethics  in  opposition  to  the  popu- 
lar dogmas  of  the  exoteric  religions.  In  his  conquest  of  self,  ever 
striving  to  become  divinely  unselfish,  he  is  not  acquiring  knowledge 
merely  for  his  own  benefit.  His  higher  nature  ever  keeps  prompting 
him  to  share  with  others,  as  far  as  he  may,  the  knowledge  he  gains, 
and  to  bear  witness  of  the  sacred  truths,  though  by  so  doing  he 
necessarily  opposes  the  errors  of  "orthodox"  religion. 

The  Dual  Manifesting  Power  of  the  Nous 
Chapter  xi.  1-3 

I  There  w'as  given  me  a  reed  like  a  wand,  and  [the  sixth  Divin- 
ity] said : 

"Rouse  thee,  and  measure  the  adytum  of  the  God,  the  altar,  and 
those  worshipping  in  it ;  2  but  the  court  which  is  exterior  to  the 
adytum  cast  out  as  exoteric,  and  do  not  measure  it ;  for  it  has  been 
given  to  the  people,  and  the  holy  city  they  shall  trample  on  for 
forty-tw^o  months.  3  I  shall  give  it  [after  that]  to  my  two  wit- 
nesses, and  they  will  teach  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
days,  clothed  in  gunny-sacks." 

COMMENTARY 

The  naos,  here  translated  adytum,  was  the  inner  temple,  or  sanc- 
tuary, where  the  God  was  enshrined,  and  to  which  none  but  the 
initiated  had  access ;  when  employed  for  initiatory  rites  it  was 
usually  called  the  adyton.    Symbolically,  the  adytum  is  the  spiritual 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


343 


nature,  and  the  altar  the  intellectual ;  astronomically,  it  is,  as  Jo- 
sephus  and  other  ancient  writers  said,  the  sky.  But  in  the  psycho- 
physiological rendering  of  the  symbolism  the  adytum,  the  altar  of 
sacrifice  and  the  altar  of  incense  are  the  three  divisions  of  the  brain, 
and  the  outer  court  is  the 
body.  The  worshippers  are 
the  forty-nine  forces,  which 
are  "measured"  by  being 
arranged  in  hierarchies,  or 
groups,  as  shown  on  page 
281.  The  "wand"  is  the 
caduceus  of  Hermes,  who 
here,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
Apocalypse,  is  the  hiero- 
phant,  or  divine  instructor, 
of  loannes. 

The  period  of  initiation 
is  here  placed  at  seven 
years,  during  the  first 
half  of  which  (forty-two 
months,  or  three  and  one- 
half  years)  the  lower  forces 
continue  to  rule  the  func- 
tions of  the  body,  while  in 
the  latter  half  (one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  sixty 
days,  again  three  and  one- 
half  years)  the  dual  electric 
force,  Ida  and  pingala,  the 
"two  witnesses,"  will  per- 
vade the  nervous  system, 
gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly  replacing  the  ordinary  nerve- 
force,  a  subdued  action  which  is  expressed  in  the  allegory  by  their 
being  wrapped  in  gunny-sacks. 

The  measuring  of  the  adytum  and  the  account  of  the  two  wit- 


Hermes 


After  Flax  man 


344  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

nesses  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  action  of  the  drama,  but  are 
merely  explanatory. 

Ch.  XI.  4-6 

4  These  are  the  two  olive-trees,  and  two  little  lampstands,  stand- 
ing before  the  God  of  the  earth.  5  If  any  one  wills  to  use  them 
wrongfully,  fire  comes  out  of  their  mouth  and  devours  their  ene- 
mies; and  if  any  one  shall  will  to  use  them  wrongfully,  in  this  way 
must  he  be  killed.  6  These  [witnesses]  have  authority  to  shut  the 
sky,  so  that  rain  may  not  shower  down  during  the  days  of  their 
teaching;  also  they  have  authority  over  the  waters,  to  transmute 
them  into  blood,  and  to  chastise  the  earth  with  every  retribution, 
as  often  as  they  will. 

COMMENTARY 

Zechariah  (iv.  2  et  seq.)  goes  more  into  detail  concerning  the  two 
olive-trees  and  the  lampstands  that  stand  before  the  Earth-God : 
"I  have  seen;  and,  behold!  a  candlestick  all  of  gold,  with  its  bowl 
upon  the  top  of  it,  and  its  seven  lamps  thereon ;  there  are  seven 
pipes  to  each  of  the  lamps,  which  are  upon  the  top  thereof :  and  two 
olive-trees  by  it,  one  upon  the  right  side  of  the  bowl,  and  the  other 
upon  the  left  side  thereof."  These  are  the  cerebral  chakras  and 
their  nadis;  and,  as  they  are  very  small  and  seemingly  unimportant, 
he  continues :  "For  wdio  hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things  ?  For 
they  [the  seven]  shall  rejoice,  and  shall  see  the  plummet  in  the  hand 
of  Zerubbabel,  even  these  seven  [which  are]  the  eyes  of  Jehovah; 
they  run  to  and  fro  through  the  whole  earth."  The  plummet  of 
Zerubbabel,  who  was  the  builder  of  the  temple,  is  the  pituitary  or- 
gan, which  controls  the  growth  of  the  entire  body.  As  modern 
physiologists  have  demonstrated,  the  disease  called  gigantism,  in 
which  the  body  or  any  of  its  members  grow  to  abnormal  size,  is  due 
to  the  over-activity  and  enlargement  of  the  pituitary.  It  is  the  crea- 
tive organ  of  the  brain ;  and  when  energized  by  the  speirema  its 
pulsating  aura  takes  on  a  swinging  motion,  like  a  plummet,  until  it 
impinges  on  the  conarium,  "the  unpaired  eye,"  impregnating  it  with 
the  golden  force  and  arousing  the  spiritual  faculties.  This  action 
is  further  described  by  Zechariah,  who  says  that  "the  two  olive- 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  345 

trees"  and  "the  two  olive  branches  which  are  beside  the  two  golden 
spouts,  that  empty  the  golden  [oil]  out  of  themselves"  are  "the  two 
anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth." 

The  dual  fire  is  destructive  to  the  unpurified  psychic  or  sorcerer 
who  may  succeed  in  arousing  it,  and  its  wrongful  use  results  in 
moral  as  well  as  physical  death. 

By  "rain"  the  nerve-fluid  is  symbolized ;  "water"  is  the  mag- 
netic, auric  substance,  and  "blood"  the  golden  electric  fire.  The 
"chastisement"  of  the  earth  is  described,  later  on  in  the  drama,  as 
the  pouring  out  of  seven  retributions  by  the  seven  Taurine  Divini- 
ties, the  Hyades,  or  "Rainers."  These  stars  are  the  seven  planets 
reduplicated,  as  also  are  other  stellar  groups  of  seven  in  the  various 
constellations. 

Ch.  XI.  7 

7  When  they  shall  have  finished  giving  their  evidence,  the  Beast 
who  comes  up  out  of  the  abyss  will  battle  with  them,  conquer  them, 
and  kill  them. 

COMMENTARY 

When  the  trance  is  ended,  and  the  neophyte  returns  to  the  ordi- 
nary state  of  consciousness  on  the  material  plane,  the  kinidaliul  re- 
cedes to  the  "throne  of  the  Beast,"  the  solar  plexus,  where  it  is  said 
in  the  Upanishads  to  lie  coiled  up  like  a  slumbering  serpent,  having 
three  and  a  half  coils,  corresponding  to  the  three  and  a  half  meas- 
ures of  the  Aimi. 

Ch.  XI.  8,  9 

8  Their  corpses  [are  now  lying]  in  the  main-street  of  the  great 
city  which  mystically  is  called  "Sodom"  and  "Egypt,"  where  also 
their  Master  was  crucified.  9  And  [some]  from  among  the  na- 
tions, tribes,  tongues  and  peoples  are  guarding  their  corpses  three 
and  a  half  days,  and  will  not  permit  their  dead  bodies  to  be  placed 
in  a  sepulchre. 

COMMENTARY 

The  city  is  the  physical  body,  and  its  main-street  is  the  spinal 
cord,  in  which  are  the  channels  of  the  threefold  speirema,  the  two 


346  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

witnesses  and  their  Master,  "the  Witness  Believable  and  True" ; 
and  these  channels — the  "corpses"  of  the  witnesses— are  preserved 
from  complete  atrophy  by  those  nerve-currents  which,  in  each  of 
the  four  somatic  divisions,  circulate  through  the  cerebro-spinal  sys- 
tem. The  three  and  a  half  days  are  the  latter  half  of  the  seven 
"days  of  creation,"  the  gross  material  arc  of  the  cycle  of  human 
evolution,  during  which  the  "witnesses"  are  lying  moribund  in  the 
physical  body,  mystically  termed  "Sodom,"  the  sinful  city,  and 
"Egypt,"  a  country  which,  although  once  a  great  centre  of  learning 
and  enlightenment,  had  become  a  land  of  darkness. 

The  formula  "nations,  tribes,  tongues,  and  peoples"  is  given  seven 
times  in  the  Apocalypse,  but  the  words  are  never  twice  in  the  same 
order;  in  one  instance  (x.  ii)  "rulers"  is  substituted  for  "tribes," 
and  in  another  (xvii.  15)  "multitudes"  for  the  same.  They  apply 
to  the  four  castes,  or  classes  of  mankind,  who  in  oriental  mysticism 
are  said  to  have  been  born  from  the  four  somatic  divisions  of  the 
Deity :  men  of  learning,  warriors,  commercialists  and  laborers. 

lesous,  the  Nous,  is  here  said  to  have  been  crucified  in  Sodom, 
also  called  Egypt :  this  is  the  first  crucifixion,  the  incarnation  of  the 
soul  in  the  physical  body,  which  is  then  its  cross.  The  second  is  in 
Calvaria  (kranion),  on  the  cross  of  initiation.  The  two  crosses 
are,  astronomically,  the  autumnal  and  the  vernal  equinox.  The 
cross  is  a  symbol  that  has  many  meanings. 

Ch.  XI.  10-14 

10  Those  who  dwell  on  the  earth  are  rejoicing  over  them  and 
are  exultant;  and  they  will  send  bribes  to  one  another — for  those 
two  seers  did  torment  those  who  are  dwelling  on  the  earth !  1 1 
After  the  three  and  a  half  days  the  Breath  of  Life  from  the  God 
entered  into  them ;  they  stood  on  their  feet,  and  great  terror  over- 
came those  who  beheld  them.  12  They  heard  a  great  voice  from 
the  sky  saying  to  them : 

"Come  up  hither." 

They  went  up  into  the  sky  in  the  cloud ;  and  their  enemies  beheld 
them.  13  In  that  hour  there  came  to  be  a  great  earthquake,  and  the 
tenth  of  the  city  fell,  and  there  were  killed  by  the  earthquake  seven 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  347 

thousand  names  of  men ;  the  rest  became  frightened,  and  gave  glory 
to  the  God  of  the  sky. 

14  The  second  woe  has  passed.  Behold!  the  third  woe  is  coming 
speedily. 

COMMENTARY 

The  rebuking  voice  of  conscience,  which  is  the  voice  of  the  Nous 
speaking  through  the  "two  witnesses,"  is  the  real  tormentor  of  the 
evilly  disposed,  who  seek  ever  to  stifle  it ;  and  the  man  who  is  thus 
trying  to  silence  his  accusing  conscience  can  not  be  mentally  hon- 
est with  himself,  but  acts  from  feigned  motives,  his  desires  and 
thoughts  bribing  one  another,  as  the  allegory  puts  it.  But  as  the 
individual  emerges  from  the  materialistic  stage  of  his  evolution, 
the  noetic  faculties  "awaken  from  the  dead,"  and  the  base  passional 
nature,  symbolized  by  the  tenth  of  the  twelve  zodiacal  divisions, 
perishes,  with  its  seven  heads,  for  it  is  identified  with  the  seven- 
headed  red  Dragon.  The  seven  is  multiplied  by  the  indefinite  num- 
ber one  thousand  to  indicate  the  many  correlations  of  these  lower 
principles,  the  "men,"  whose  "names"  are  their  psychic  colors, 
which  are  obliterated,  the  remaining  colors  becoming  brighter  in 
the  auric  "glory"  of  the  Sky-God. 

The  Conquest  of  the  Divine  Principle 

Ch.  XI.  15-18 

15  The  seventh  Divinity  gave  the  trumpet-call.  There  came  to 
be  great  voices  in  the  sky,  saying : 

"The  realm  of  the  universe  has  become  [the  realm]  of  our  Mas- 
ter and  of  his  Anointed,  and  he  shall  reign  throughout  the  aeons  of 
the  aeons." 

16  The  twenty- four  Ancients  who  are  seated  before  the  God  on 
their  thrones  fell  on  their  faces  and  worshipped  the  God,   17  saying : 

"We  give  thanks  to  thee,  the  Master-God,  the  All-Dominator, 
who  [forever]  art,  and  who  wast,  because  thou  hast  taken  thy 
great  force  and  regained  sovereignty.  18  The  people  grew  pas- 
sionate; and  thy  passion  came,  and  the  season  of  the  dead  to  be 


348  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

judged,  and  [the  season]  to  give  their  recompense  to  thy  slaves  the 
seers,  to  the  devotees,  and  to  those  who  fear  thy  name,  the  young 
and  the  old,  and  to  destroy  those  who  are  destroying  the  earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The  seventh  of  the  mystic  "spiritual  sounds"  signalizes  the  awak- 
ening of  the  highest  of  the  chakras,  the  centres  through  which  radi- 
ates the  Light  of  the  Logos.  The  passion  of  the  God  is  not  his 
"wrath,"  but  is  the  creative  energy  of  the  Logos,  the  "great  force" 
(dynamis)  which  produces  the  "birth  from  above";  and  it  is  here 
placed  in  contrast  wath  the  passions  that  "are  destroying  the  earth." 
For  here  the  holy  Power  has  replaced  the  generative  force. 

The  chorus  by  the  sky-voices  and  the  Ancients  is  the  fourth  of 
the  series. 

The  Birthplace  of  the  Sun-God 

Ch.  XI.  19 

19  The  adytum  of  the  God  in  the  sky  was  opened,  and  in  his 
adytum  was  seen  the  ark  [containing  the  emblems]  of  his  compact; 
and  there  came  to  be  lightnings,  voices,  thunders,  an  earthquake 
and  great  hail. 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  kibotos,  properly  meaning  a  wooden  box,  or  cofifer,  is 
applied  in  the  New  Testament  to  the  ark  in  the  temple,  as  here,  and 
also  to  the  Noachian  ark.  The  constellation  Argo  Navis,  the  celes- 
tial Ship,  situated  to  the  south  of  Virgo,  was  also  called  kibotos  and 
"Noah's  Ark."  As  exoteric  exponents  of  phallicism  are  fond  of 
pointing  out,  the  ark  is  a  symbol  of  the  w^omb,  the  place  of  birth — 
which  is  perfectly  true  if  it  is  regarded  as  merely  a  concrete  symbol. 
But  esoterically  it  has  no  such  phallic  significance,  but  stands  for 
the  exact  opposite,  the  place  of  spiritual  rebirth,  the  emergence  into 
immortality.  All  mysticism  aside,  it  symbolizes  the  womb  in  the 
brain,  the  latter  being  an  androgynous  organ  w'herein  is  immacu- 
lately conceived  the  permanent  spiritual  vehicle,  the  solar  body.  But 
the  celestial  Ship  represents  the  psychic  body. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


349 


The  Mighty  Mother  and  Her  Solar  Son 

Chapter  xii.  i,  2 

I  A  great  constellation  was  seen  in  the  sky :  a  [winged]  Woman 
clothed  with  the  sun,  the  moon  underneath  her  feet,  and  on  her 
head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars.  2  She  had  [a  babe]  in  her  womb — 
and  she  kept  crying  out,  in  the  pangs  of  child-birth,  racked  with 
pain  of  parturition. 

COMMENTARY 

The  seventh  trumpet-call  is  the  sound  heard  when  the  conarium 
is  energized,  and  the  latter  corresponds  to  the  sign  Leo,  the  house 
of  the  Sun;  but  the  constellation  here  disclosed  is  triadic,  including 
in  the  symbol  the  signs  Virgo  (the  house  of  Mercury),  Leo  and 
Cancer  (the  domicile  of  the  Moon).  Thus  associated,  Virgo  fig- 
ures as  the  Virgin  Mother,  who  immaculately 
conceives  and  gives  birth  to  the  Son  of  the 
God ;  whereas,  taken  in  combination  with  Libra 
(the  house  of  Venus)  and  Scorpio  (the  house 
of  Mars),  she  becomes  the  scarlet  prostitute, 
the  symbol  of  carnal  generation.  As  the  World- 
Mother,  the  White  Virgin  of  the  Skies,  whether 
called  Diana,  Demeter,  the  mother  of  Dionysos, 
or  Mariam,  the  mother  of  lesous,  she  is  the 
pure  aether,  the  Logos-Light,  or  primordial 
force-substance;  and  as  the  Fallen  Woman,  the 
Queen  of  the  Abyss,  she  is  the  parturient 
energy  of  nature,  the  basis  of  physical  life, 
and  as  such  she  is  named  in  the  Apocalypse  Sodom,  Babylon  and 
Egypt,  merely  to  make  her  threefold  like  her  celestial  prototype, 
for  in  reality  she  includes  all  cities  and  countries  inhabited  by  sinful 
mankind. 

The  word  semeion  (the  synonym  of  senia),  in  the  Greek  text,  is 
the  correct  technical  word  for  "constellation." 

Vifgo  was  always  pictured  with  wings;  and  later  in  the  text  she 
has  the  two  wings  of  the  Eagle. 


Virgo 


350 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


The  Lust  for  Physical  Life 

Cii.  XII.  3-6 

3  Another  constellation  was  seen  in  the  sky— and,  behold !  a 
great  fiery-red  Dragon,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  on 
his  heads  seven  diadems.  4  His  tail  was  trailing  along  the  third  of 
the  stars  of  the  sky  and  kept  throwing  them  to  the  earth.  The 
Dragon  was  standing  in  front  of  the  Woman  who  was  on  the  \erge 
of  parturition,  so  that  as  soon  as  she  gave  birth  he  might  devour 
her  child.  5  She  gave  birth  to  a  son,  virile,  who  is  destined  to  shep- 
herd all  the  people  with  an  iron  wand ;  and  her  child  was  snatched 
up  to  the  God  and  to  his  throne.  6  The  Woman  fled  into  the  des- 
ert, where  she  has  a  place  made  ready  by  the  God,  that  there  [the 
Divinities]  may  nourish  her  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
days, 

COMMENTARY 

This  constellatory  symbol 
is  Draco,  the  pole  Dragon, 
which  has  seven  distinguish- 
ing stars,  and  which,  as  de- 
picted in  the  ancient  star- 
maps,  extends  over  seven  of 
the  zodiacal  signs,  and  in  set- 
ting apparently  sweeps  a  third 
of  the  starry  sky  down  to  the  horizon.  ]\Iicrocosmically 
it  symbolizes  the  passional  nature,  cpithuinia,  the  Apoca- 
lyptic number  of  which  is  555.  The  energizing  of  the 
cerebral  centres  produces  a  reflex  action  in  the  lower 
nature,  and  unless  the  neophyte  is  duly  purified  the 
Dragon  will  indeed  devour  the  child,  not  at  the  time  of  its  birth, 
but  at  the  moment  when  it  is  conceived.  For  the  solar  body  is 
not  born  at  this  point,  but  only  has  its  inception,  though  the  psychic 
form  may  be  projected.  In  the  pagan  Greek  mysteries  this  stage 
of  the  telestic  work  was  represented  quite  baldly  as  the  generative 
act,    but    loannes   has    handled    the    subject    more    delicately,    by 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  351 

substituting  for  the  solar  the  psychic  body,  which  is  "born"  with 
the  physical  body  and  grows  conjointly  with  it.  In  the  Apocalyptic 
allegory  the  Conqueror  is  not  born  until  after  the  three  and  a  half 
years  (the  1260  days)  during  which  the  Woman  is  being  nourished 
by  the  Divinities ;  and  the  statement  that  the  child  is  caught  up  to 
the  throne  connotes  a  period  of  spiritual  gestation.  In  fact,  the 
conception,  not  the  birth,  is  here  represented  by  the  opening  of  the 
adytum  and  disclosure  of  the  ark;  and  those  who  have  investigated 
the  subject  of  the  ark  need  not  be  reminded  of  what  were  the  very 
peculiar  emblems  it  contained. 

The  "wand"  with  which  the  divine  child  is  to  shepherd  the  people 
is  of  course  the  caduceus  of  Hermes,  the  beautiful  shepherder  of 
souls.  In  older  mythology'  this  magic  wand  is  found  in  the  hand 
of  Xebo,  the  God  of  Wisdom  and  "the  holder  of  the  sceptre  of 
power."  It  symbolizes  the  triple  fire;  properly  of  gold,  it  is  here 
termed  an  iron  wand,  thus  associating  the  divine  child  with  Aries, 
the  house  of  Mars. 

Ch.  XII.  7-12 

7  There  came  to  be  a  battle  in  the  sky.  Michael  and  his  Divini- 
ties gave  battle  to  the  Dragon ;  and  the  Dragon  and  his  Divinities 
gave  battle,  8  but  they  lacked  strength,  nor  was  their  place  found 
in  the  sky  any  more.  9  Hurled  down  was  the  great  Dragon,  the 
archaic  Snake,  who  is  called  the  "Accuser"  and  the  "Adversary," 
the  deluder  of  the  whole  inhabited  earth;  he  was  hurled  down  to 
the  earth,  and  his  Divinities  were  hurled  down  with  him.  10  I 
heard  a  great  voice  in  the  sky,  saying : 

"Now  are  attained  the  deliverance,  the  force  and  the  ruling  of 
our  God,  and  the  authority  of  his  Anointed.  For  hurled  down  is 
the  prosecutor  of  our  brothers,  who  keeps  prosecuting  them  before 
our  God  day  and  night.  1 1  But  they  conquered  him  through  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  through  the  arcane  doctrine  of  their  evi- 
dence; and  they  did  not  esteem  their  psychic  bodies  until  death. 
12  Therefore  rejoice,  ye  skies,  and  ye  who  are  encamped  in  them; 
[but]  woe  to  the  earth  and  the  sea— for  the  Accuser  has  gone  down 
to  you  having  great  lust,  knowing  that  he  has  but  a  short  season." 


352  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  Greek  of  the  Apocalypse  belongs  to  no  particular  period : 
loannes  had  evidently  acquired  the  language  mainly  by  reading, 
picking  up  his  vocabulary  largely  from  ancient  works,  or  else  lived 
in  some  community  in  Asia  Minor  where  the  language  w-as  pre- 
served in  its  older  form ;  or  possibly  he  employed  an  archaic  style 
to  be  in  keeping  with  his  subject,  but  made  lapses  into  the  vernacu- 
lar, as  do  modern  writers  when  they  assume  Elizabethan  English 
because  of  its  supposed  dignity  and  impressiveness.  Thus,  for  in- 
stance, he  invariably  uses  the  word  polemos  for  ''battle"  or  mere 
personal  combat,  although  in  his  day  the  word  had  taken  the  broader 
meaning  of  "war,"  and  inaclic  was  the  usual  word  for  "battle." 
War,  in  the  sense  of  protracted  hostilities,  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Apocalypse,  which  in  every  instance  speaks  only  of  a  brief  conflict, 
told  in  very  few  words,  or  of  mere  combats  between  two  individu- 
als. The  battle  between  Michael  and  the  Dragon,  with  their  re- 
spective hosts,  resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  the  evil  serpent  from 
the  sky,  allegorizes  the  exclusion  from  the  mind  of  all  impure 
thoughts,  especially  those  relating  to  the  subject  of  sex.  For  Satan, 
the  red  Divinity,  stands  for  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  principle 
of  Desire  in  all  its  innumerable  gradations,  from  the  vaguest  yearn- 
ings and  the  mere  promptings  of  the  appetites  of  the  body  down  to 
the  grossest  phases  of  passion  and  lust;  and  all  of  these  have  their 
source  in  the  instinct  of  reproduction,  the  attracting  and  cohering 
force  of  generated  life.  The  creative  Logos  is  the  Dragon  of  Eight, 
or  Day-Sun ;  and  Satan,  the  Adversary,  is  the  Dragon  of  Darkness, 
or  Night-Sun. 

Very  little  is  said  in  the  Apocalypse  concerning  the  psychic  body ; 
in  fact,  it  is  almost  ignored,  being  tacitly  included  in  the  mortal, 
generated  nature.  While  the  spiritual  awakening  is  necessarily  ac- 
companied by  more  or  less  psychic  development,  the  latter  may  pro- 
ceed independently  of,  and  even  adversely  to,  the  true  noetic  prog- 
ress ;  and  the  pursuit  of  psychism  for  its  own  sake  leads  inevitably 
to  moral  death.  The  psychic  consciousness  should  not  be  dragged 
down  into,  and  confused  with,   the  normal  consciousness  on  the 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  353 

physical  plane  of  life;  for  the  psychological  result  of  thus  confound- 
ing the  two  worlds  is  simply  ordinary  insanity,  from  which  it  dif- 
fers only  in  that  it  is  suicidally  self-inflicted,  and  therefore  in  the 
highest  degree  culpable,  instead  of  being  merely  a  misfortune 
caused  by  mental  disease.  The  psychic  body  has  its  own  place,  in 
its  own  world,  and  is  chiefly  of  importance  after  the  death  of  the 
physical  form — hence  the  encomium,  "they  did  not  esteem  their 
psychic  bodies  until  death."  As  said  in  the  Fourth  Evangel  (xii. 
25),  "He  who  loves  his  psychic  body  will  lose  it;  and  he  who  dis- 
regards his  psychic  body  in  this  world  will  preserve  it  for  [its] 
cyclic  {aidnion)  life."  In 'Apocalyptic  symbolism  the  psychic  (lu- 
nar) body  would  be  the  bride  of  the  Beast,  as  the  solar  body  is  the 
bride  of  the  Lamb.  In  fact,  an  ancient  reading  of  ii.  20  has  "your 
wife  lezabel" ;  and  as  Thyateira  denotes  the  psychic  centre,  the 
"wife"  would  be  the  psychic  body. 

Ch.  XII.  13-17;  XIII.  I 

13  When  the  Dragon  saw  that  he  was  hurled  down  to  the  earth, 
he  kept  pursuing  the  Woman  who  gave  birth  to  the  man-child. 
14  The  Woman  was  endowed  with  the  great  Eagle's  two  wings,  so 
that  she  might  fly  to  the  desert,  to  her  place,  where  she  is  being 
nourished  for  a  season,  and  seasons,  and  half  a  season,  from  the 
face  of  the  Snake.  15  The  Snake  spouted  water  after  the  Woman, 
like  a  river,  that  he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  by  the  tor- 
rent. 1 6  The  earth  rescued  the  Woman :  the  earth  opened  her 
mouth  and  swallowed  up  the  river  which  the  Dragon  spouted  from 
his  mouth.  17  The  Dragon  waxed  passionate  over  the  Woman, 
and  went  away  to  battle  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  w'ho  keep  the 
commands  of  the  God  and  have  the  evidence  of  the  Anointed 
lesous ;    i  and  he  stationed  himself  on  the  sand  of  the  sea, 

COMMENTARY 

The  Virgin  Mother  being  sushwnna,  the  two  wings  of  the  Eagle 
are  tda  and  pingala;  for  Aquila  is  a  paranatellon  of  Capricornus,  the 
sign  allotted  to  Hestia,  who  personifies  the  divine  essence,  ousia,  or 
primordial  substance. 


354  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  winged  Woman  represents  the  objective,  or  substantial, 
working  of  the  kundalim,  while  the  three  witnesses  answer  to  its 
subjective,  or  noetic,  aspect. 

Foiled  in  his  designs  on  the  man-child  (the  nascent  solar  body), 
the  Dragon  seeks  to  arrest  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  neophyte  by 
pouring  out  a  flood  of  psychic  phenomenal  illusions,  but  the  force 
thus  engendered  is  absorbed  by  the  material  nature ;  and  then,  sta- 
tioning himself  on  the  margin  of  the  sea  (the  finer  and  more  aes- 
thetic elements  of  the  epithumetic  principle),  he  combats  the  in- 
tuitions of  the  intellectual  nature.  Astronomically,  the  river  spouted 
out  by  the  Dragon  is  Eridanus,  a  w'nding  constellation  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  also  called  the  River  of  Orion,  which,  when 
Virgo  is  in  ascension,  is  setting  and  therefore  apparently  being 
swallowed  by  the  earth.  The  constellation  Hydra,  the  Water-ser- 
pent, which  adjoins  Virgo,  is  here  introduced  as  a  southern  redupli- 
cation of  the  polar  Dragon,  which  is  a  northern  paranatellon  of 
Scorpio. 

The  phrase  "season,  and  seasons,  and  half  a  season,"  is  only  a 
puzzling  variant  of  the  forty-two  months  and  the  1260  days, 
namely,  three  and  a  half  years. 

The  Lust-tainted  Lower  Mind 

Chapter  xiii.  1-4 

I  I  saw  rising  out  of  the  sea  a  [constellatory]  Beast,  having  ten 
horns  and  seven  heads,  and  on  his  horns  ten  diadems,  and  on  his 
heads  [seven]  names  of  profanities.  2  The  Beast  which  I  saw  was 
like  a  leopard,  his  feet  were  like  a  bear's  [feet],  and  his  mouth  was 
like  a  lion's  mouth.  The  Dragon  gave  him  his  force  and  his  throne, 
and  great  authority.  3  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  [drooping]  as  if  it 
had  been  slain  in  the  Death  [-world]  ;  but  his  death-blow  was  healed. 
The  whole  earth  became  admiring  followers  of  the  Beast.  4  They 
also  worshipped  the  Dragon  because  he  gave  authority  to  the  Beast, 
and  they  worshipped  the  Beast,  saying : 

''Who  is  a  match  for  the  Beast?  Is  any  one  strong  enough  to 
meet  him  in  combat  ?" 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  355 

COMMENTARY 

In  stellar  symbolism  the  Beast  is  the  constellation  now  called 
Cetus,  which  is  represented,  however,  not  as  a  Whale  but  as  a  non- 
descript marine  monster.  The  Greek  name  for  this  constellation, 
Kctos,  "sea-monster,"  is  a  word  having  for  its  root-meaning  "the 
abyss."  The  Arabians  and  the  Jews  called  it  the  Sea-Lion ;  and  it 
was  also  named  the  Leopard  and  the  Sea-Bear.  loannes  has  com- 
bined these  various  representations  of  it,  presenting  a  composite 
picture.  As  a  caricature  of  the 
psycho-material  mind,  the  original 
figure,  in  the  form  drawn  by  the 
ancients  who  invented  the  zo- 
diacal language,  would  seem  to 
be     sufficiently     grotesque,     but 

loannes   has    given    it   additional  ^^/^  ^ 

°  K<t(/  Cetus 

touches  of  satire.     The  Beast  is 

said  to  rise  from  the  sea  and  to  receive  power  froni  the  Dragon, 
because  it  is  the  product  of  the  two  lower  planes,  the  psychic  and 
the  material ;  its  seven  heads  are  the  seven  ruling  epithumetic  de- 
sires, each  of  which  is  a  profanation  of  the  Divine  Desire;  its  ten 
horns  are  the  five  intellectual  faculties  doubled,  because  its  every 
faculty  is  dual  and  at  war  with  itself;  the  horns  are  all  adorned 
with  diadems  to  indicate  the  false  pride  of  the  lower  intellect.  As 
this  lower  mind  is  the  shadow  or  reflected  image,  so  to  say,  of  the 
true  mind,  the  Nous,  which  is  symbolized  as  the  Lion,  the  Beast  is 
pictured  as  a  Pseudo-Lion,  a  hybrid,  for  it  resembles  the  Leopard, 
which  was  fabled  to  be  a  cross  between  the  Lion  (Ico)  and  the 
Panther  (pardits)  ;  it  is  slow-going,  with  the  ponderous  paws  of  the 
Bear,  and  has  a  mouth  like  a  Lion,  thus  simulating  the  voice  of  the 
Nous.  It  represents  the  highest  development  of  the  human  intellect 
dissociated  from  philosophic  reason  and  spiritual  intuition,  and  it  is 
indeed  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world  of  the  profane.  The  head 
that  is  seemingly  slain  and  yet  resurrects  is  the  desire  for  life  on  the 
plane  of  the  senses,  a  desire  which  the  neophyte  must  utterly  eradi- 
cate.   In  a  more  general  sense,  the  lower  mind,  whenever  it  attempts 


356  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

philosophy,  is  never  quite  certain  that  life  is  worth  living;  and  in  its 
utter  blindness  to  spiritual  realities,  perceiving  only  the  phenomena 
of  the  material  world,  it  formulates  theories  of  existence  based 
merely  upon  them,  regarding  all  else  as  unknowable. 

Ch.  XIII.  5-10 

5  There  was  given  him  a  mouth  speaking  great  [boastings]  and 
profanities;  and  authority  was  given  him  to  do  [this]  for  forty- 
two  months.  6  He  opened  his  mouth  in  profanity  against  the  God, 
to  revile  his  name,  his  tent-temple,  and  those  who  are  encamped  in 
the  sky.  7  It  was  given  him  to  do  battle  with  the  devotees,  and  to 
conquer  them;  and  authority  was  given  him  over  every  tribe,  na- 
tion, tongue  and  people.  8  All  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth  will 
worship  him —  [every  one]  whose  name  has  not  been  registered  in 
the  sacrificed  Lamb's  scroll  of  life  since  the  evolution  of  the  uni- 
verse. 9  If  any  one  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear:  10  If  any  one  leads 
into  captivity,  into  captivity  he  goes;  if  any  one  shall  kill  with  the 
sword,  with  the  sword  must  he  be  killed.  Here  is  the  patience  and 
the  faith  of  the  devotees. 

COMMENTARY 

In  this  allegorical  exposition  of  the  powers  and  peculiarities  of 
the  lower  mind-principle,  only  part  applies  to  the  particular  case  of 
the  Conqueror,  the  rest  being  of  a  general  nature;  for  without  this 
broader  application  the  treatment  of  the  subject  would  necessarily 
be  incomplete  and  obscure.  Thus  the  forty-two  months  (three  and 
a  half  years)  refer  to  the  first  half  of  the  seven-year  initiatory 
cycle,  during  which  the  neophyte,  passing  through  the  psychic  stages 
of  his  development,  and  thereby  intensifying  the  action  of  the 
psycho-phrenic  mind,  has  to  struggle  constantly  against  its  influ- 
ence; but  the  rest  of  the  explanatory  matter  relates  to  mankind  in 
general. 

Those  who  have  not  been  registered  in  the  book  of  life  (see  also 
ch.  xvii.  8)  are  the  great  majority  who  have  not  in  any  incarnation, 
during  the  cycle  of  material  evolution,  attained  the  noetic  con- 
sciousness.   For,  once  a  man  has  even  glimpsed  the  supernal  truths, 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  357 

he  can  never  again  rest  content  with  the  ilhisory  images  of  the 
material  world  or  worship  at  the  shrine  of  mere  intellectualism ; 
the  true  Self,  the  Master-Mind,  has  placed  his  seal  upon  him,  and 
he  is  thenceforth  individualized  from  the  irresponsible  mass  of 
mankind,  and  enrolled  among  those  who  must  by  an  irresistible  im- 
pulse, the  call  of  the  God,  tread  the  path  of  man's  higher  destiny. 

The  word  kataholc,  here  translated  "evolution,"  is  said  by  Orige- 
nes  to  mean  the  descent  of  the  souls  into  material  conditions. 

The  formula,  ''He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  hear,"  is  used  by 
loannes  as  an  appeal  to  the  intuition.  Here  he  states  a  broad  prin- 
ciple: the  man  who  craves  material  life,  by  that  very  desire  con- 
demns himself  to  remain  in  the  bondage  of  reincarnation  and  sub- 
ject to  the  iron  law  of  retribution  which  obtains  in  the  lower 
spheres  of  existence.  But  the  esotericist,  knowing  that  nothing 
binds  him  to  the  physical  form  of  life  except  the  longings  of  his 
own  heart,  patiently  endures  all  the  ills  of  life,  in  full  assurance  that 
through  the  purification  of  his  moral  character  he  will  attain  de- 
liverance. He  who  does  evil,  however,  is  repaid  in  kind :  the  slaver 
goes  into  slavery,  the  slayer  is  slain.  Says  Aischylos,  "Wise  are 
they  who  worship  Adrasteia  (Nemesis)." 

The  Debased  Devotional  Nature 
Ch.  XIII.  II,  12 

III  saw  another  [constellatory]  Beast  rising  out  of  the  earth. 
He  had  two  horns  like  a  ram,  and  he  talked  like  a  dragon.  12  He  is 
wielding  all  the  authority  of  the  first  Beast  in  his  presence,  and  he 
is  causing  the  earth  and  all  its  inhabitants  to  worship  the  first  Beast, 
whose  death-blow  was  healed. 

COMMENTARY 

This  Pseudo-Ram  is  the  dual  sex-nature,  the  two  riders  of  the 
dun  horse  in  a  different  impersonation.  He  is  the  image  on  the 
material  plane  of  the  Ram,  who  in  the  opening  of  the  seven  seals 
played  the  part  of  the  rider  of  the  white  horse.  Thus  the  Ram  and 
the  Pseudo-Ram  bear  the  same  relation  to  each  other  as  do  Eros,  the 


358 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


Divine  Love,  and  pothos  (Cupid),  carnal  love,  not,  however,  as  the 
base  passion,  but  in  its  more  refined  forms  as  sentimental  yearning, 

religious  fervor  of  the  irrational 
sort,  and  all  the  emotional  im- 
pulses. He  talks  like  a  dragon, 
because  from  this  source  originate 
religious  cant,  sentimental  ethics, 
and  erotic  utterances  generally; 
and  he  has  all  the  potentialities  of 
the  first  Beast,  the  phrenic  nature, 
for  unutterable  vileness.  As  a 
constellation,  he  is  the  Head  of 
Medusa,  the  mortal  Gorgon, 
called  by  the  Jews  Rosch  hasatan, 
"Satan's  Head."  Owing  to  its 
proximity  to  Aries,  this  constella- 
tion was  sometimes  pictured  wearing  the  two  horns  of  the  Ram. 


Medusa 


Ch.  XIII.  13-18 

13  He  makes  great  omens,  so  that  he  may  even  make  fire  come 
down  out  of  the  sky  to  the  earth  in  the  sight  of  men.  14  He  keeps 
deluding  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth,  through  the  omens  which  he 
was  permitted  to  make  in  sight  of  the  Beast,  saying  to  those  who 
dwell  on  the  earth  that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  Beast  who 
had  the  stroke  of  the  sword  and  came  to  life.  15  It  was  permitted 
[him]  to  bestow  breath  on  it — the  image  of  the  Beast — so  that  the 
image  of  the  Beast  should  not  only  talk  but  also  cause  that  all  [men] 
who  might  not  worship  the  image  of  the  Beast  should  be  slain.  16 
He  causes  all  [men],  the  young  and  the  old,  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
alike  the  freemen  and  the  slaves,  to  be  given  a  brand  on  their  right 
hand  or  on  their  forehead,  17  and  that  no  one  should  be  able  to 
buy  or  to  sell  unless  he  has  the  brand — the  name  of  the  Beast,  or  ilie 
number  of  his  name.  18  Here  is  cleverness:  let  him  who  has  the 
intuitive  mind  compute  the  number  of  the  Beast;  for  it  is  the  num- 
ber of  a  man,  and  his  number  is  six  hundred  and  sixty-six. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  359 

COMMENTARY 

Magical  powers  were  attributed  to  Medusa,  and  talismans  were 
made  under  its  stellar  influence.  The  word  scnicion,  here  translated 
"omen,"  signifies  also  a  "talisman"  or  symbol  drawn  under  the 
influence  of  some  particular  constellation  or  planetary  aspect.  Cedre- 
nus  states  (p.  22)  that  Perseus  (the  slayer  of  the  Gorgon)  taught 
the  Persians  the  magic  of  Medusa,  by  means  of  which  fire  came 
down  out  of  the  sky.  But,  apart  from  all  exoteric  notions  of  cere- 
monial magic,  the  Pseudo-Ram  of  the  Apocalypse,  as  a  principle  in 
man,  does  indeed  draw  down  "fire"  from  the  intellectual  sky;  for 
the  force  which  it  represents  produces  all  the  grosser  forms  of 
psychism,  and  is  the  agent  of  the  so-called  "miracles"  of  exoteric 
religion,  the  prodigies  produced  by  erotic  fervor,  blind  credulity 
and  disordered  imagination ;  and  it  is  likewise  the  foul  force  em- 
ployed in  phallic  sorcery.  It  is  also  the  irrational  instinct  of  relig- 
ionism, the  vague  yearning  for  something  to  worship — a  reflection 
or  shadow  of  the  true  devotional  principle— which  prompts  men  to 
project  a  subjective  image  of  the  lower,  personal  mind,  and  to 
endow  it  with  human  attributes,  and  then  to  claim  to  receive  "reve- 
lations" from  it;  and  this— the  image  of  the  Beast,  or  unspiritual 
mind,— is  their  anthropomorphic  God,  a  fabulous  monster  the  wor- 
ship of  which  has  ever  prompted  men  to  fanaticism  and  persecution, 
and  has  inflicted  untold  misery  and  dread  upon  the  masses  of  man- 
kind, as  well  as  physical  torture  and  death  in  hideous  forms  upon  the 
many  martyrs  who  have  refused  to  bend  the  knee  to  this  Gorgonean 
phantom  of  the  beast-mind  of  man.  Truly,  where  the  worshippers 
of  this  image  of  the  Beast  predominate,  the  man  whose  brow  and 
hand  are  unbranded  by  this  superstition,  who  neither  thinks  nor  acts 
in  accordance  with  it,  suffers  ostracism  if  not  virulent  persecution. 

In  the  star-maps  Perseus  is  depicted  carrying  the  Medusa-Head  in 
his  left  hand.  The  Head  contains  the  remarkable  variable  star  called 
Algol,  the  name  being  corrupt  Arabic  for  Al-Ghfil,  "the  Ogre."  The 
sword  of  Perseus  is  suspended  threateningly  over  the  head  of  Cetus ; 
and  in  the  latter  constellation  is  Mira,  "the  wonderful,"  a  variable 
star  which  has  a  period  of  about  330  days,  and  which  at  times 


36o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

reaches  the  second  magnitude,  and  then  again  diminishes  until  it 
is  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  Perseus,  Herakles  and  the  other  Solar 
Heroes — renowned  in  mythology  as  slayers  of  monsters  and  as 
healers — who  are  represented  among  the  constellations  may  be  con- 
sidered as  variants  of  the  Sun-God,  Dionysos. 

"Here  is  cleverness"  would  be,  in  the  English  idiom,  "Here  is  a 
puzzle."  The  number  of  the  Beast,  as  already  explained,  is  simply 
he  phrcn,  the  letters  of  which,  as  numerals,  total  666;  while  the 
Pseudo-Lamb  is  akrasia,  or  333.  Mere  intellectual it)^  and  learning 
pertain  to  the  Phren,  not  to  the  Nous.  As  Plato  says  (Timaios, 
p.  51 ),  "the  Nous  is  shared  only  by  the  Gods  and  by  very  few  men." 
In  I  Cor.  ii.  16,  Paulos,  speaking  as  an  initiate,  says,  "We  have  the 
Nous,"  that  is,  the  spiritual  mind,  as  distinguished  from  the  phrenic 
or  unspiritual  mind. 

IV 

THE  THIRD  OF  THE  SEVENFOLD  CONOUESTS-THE 
INITIATION  BY  THE  SOLAR  FIRE 

The  Exalted  Higher  Mind— the  Sun-God 

Chapter  xiv.  1-5 

I  I  saw;  and,  behold!  the  Ram  standing  on  the  mountain  of 
Sion,  and  with  him  the  one  hundred  and  forty- four  thousand  hav- 
ing his  name  and  his  father's  name  written  on  their  foreheads.  2 
I  heard  a  voice  from  the  sky,  like  the  voice  of  many  waters,  like 
the  voice  of  a  great  thunder;  and  the  voice  which  I  heard  was  like 
[that]  of  lyrists  playing  on  their  lyres.  3  They  chanted  as  it  were 
a  new  lyric  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  four  Beings  and  the 
Ancients,  and  no  one  could  understand  the  lyric  save  the  hundred 
and  forty- four  thousand — they  who  had  been  bought  from  the  earth. 
4  These  are  the  ones  who  were  not  defiled  with  women ;  for  they 
are  virgins.  These  are  the  ones  who  go  along  with  the  Ram  wher- 
ever he  goes.  These  were  bought  from  men — a  firstling  to  the  God 
and  the  Ram.  5  In  their  mouth  was  found  no  deceit;  they  are 
faultless. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES 


361 


COMMENTARY 

The  Ram  is  the  fourth  of  the  animal-symbols,  or  "beasts,"  and 
is  identical  with  the  Bowman  on  the  white  horse,  the  regent  of  the 
fourth  somatic  division.  He  is  the  intellectual  Sun,  the  Nous,  which 
is  lesous,  the  number  of  whose  name  is  888.  The  Sun  is  the  Lion 
when  domiciled  in  Leo,  which  corresponds  to  the  highest  of  the 
noetic  chakras,  and  the  Ram  when  exalted  in  Aries,  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  nimbus ;  and  his  being  on  Sion's  hill  also  signifies  that 
exaltation.  Here  he  is  represented  as  being  surrounded  by  his 
virginal  powers,  and  a  thunderous 
chorus  preludes  the  next  act  in 
the  drama,  the  conquest  of  the 
cardiac  centres.  But  this  chorus, 
the  fifth  in  the  series,  is  only  de- 
scribed, no  words  being  given 
because,  it  is  intimated,  it  would 
be  unintelligible  to  the  profane ; 
and  the  conquest  of  the  chakras 
of  this  division  is  given  with  less 
detail  than  are  the  others. 

The  signs  extending  from  Aries 
to  Libra,  from  the  vernal  to  the 
autumnal  equinox,  are  all  covertly 
referred  to  in  the  text.  The 
companions  of  the  Ram  are  said 
to  be  "virgins"  (parthcnoi)  :  the 
Guardian-Goddess  of  Aries  is 
Athena  the  "Virgin"  (Parthenos) , 
whose  splendid  temple  in  the 
Acropolis  of  Athens  was  called  the 
Parthenon.  As  Aries  is  the  domicile  of  the  planet  Mars,  Athena 
is  the  Goddess  of  War  as  well  as  of  Wisdom,  and  her  helmet  is 
adorned  with  rams'  heads  and  a  sphinx.  The  "voice"  that  comes 
from  the  sky  is  like  the  sound  of  many  waters  and  the  sound  of 
thunder:  Zeus  the  Thunderer  governs  the  sky-region  or  Taurus- 


Athena 


362  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

quarter  and  also  the  sign  Leo.  The  Regent  of  Taurus  is  Aphrodite, 
while  Hermes  is  the  Regent  of  Cancer,  the  sole  domicile  of  the 
Moon,  who  rules  the  waters ;  Hermes  and  Aphrodite  together  repre- 
sent the  divine  androgyne.  The  "voice"  is  also  like  the  sound  of 
lyres :  the  lyre  is  the  distinctive  property  of  Apollon,  who  is  the 
Guardian-God  of  the  sign  Gemini.  No  guile  is  found  in  the  mouth 
of  these  "virgins" :  the  sign  Virgo  corresponds  to  the  vocal  centre 
in  the  throat.  And,  finally,  the  "virgins"  are  faultless,  like  the  celes- 
tial Balance,  Libra.  This,  however,  is  really  a  list  of  the  descending 
signs,  with  Scorpio  and  Sagittarius  (which  correspond  to  the  pas- 
sional centres)  replaced  by  their  polar  opposites,  Taurus  and  Gemini, 
to  indicate  the  purity  of  the  candidate.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  only 
the  ascending  signs  that  are  virgins  "who  were  not  defiled  by 
women."  The  descending  signs  "were  bought  from  men."  All  the 
signs,  the  companions  of  the  Ram-Sun,  "go  along  with  the  Ram 
wherever  he  goes." 

The  Fire  That  Gives  Wisdom 

Ch.  XIV.  6,  7 

6  I  saw  another  Divinity  flying  in  mid-sky,  having  an  aeonian 
divine  message  to  announce  to  those  who  sit  [enthroned]  on  the 
earth,  and  to  every  people,  tribe,  tongue  and  nation,  7  and  he  said 
with  a  loud  voice : 

"Fear  ye  the  God  and  to  him  give  glory;  for  the  hour  of  his 
judgment  is  come !  Worship  him  who  made  the  sky,  the  earth,  the 
sea  and  the  springs  of  waters." 

COMMENTARY 

This,  the  third  of  the  conquests,  is  represented  as  a  harvesting 
of  the  intellectual,  psychic  and  spiritual  principles,  to  which  corre- 
spond respectively  the  cerebro-spinal  axis,  the  great  sympathetic 
nervous  system,  and  the  aureola.  The  action  is  therefore  confined 
to  the  three  higher  centres  corresponding  to  these  principles ;  while 
the  opening  of  the  four  lower  centres  is  given  as  a  proclamation  to 
each  of  the  four  lower  principles  seated  in  the  somatic  divisions. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  363 

An  aeon  {aion)  is  a  definite  life-period,  as  the  life-time  of  a  man, 
a  generation,  or  the  whole  evolutionary  period,  the  complete  cycle 
of  generation.  It  is  only  the  crude,  unphilosophical  notion  that  eter- 
nity is  "a  long  period  of  time"  that  has  caused  the  "authorized" 
translators  of  the  Nezv  Testament  to  persist  in  giving  aidnios  the 
meaning  "eternal."  Time  is  not  an  entity  or  a  thing  per  se,  nor  is 
eternity  merely  time  indefinitely  prolonged.  Time  is  only  a  mental 
concept  arising  from  the  consciousness  of  change  in  the  phenomenal 
world;  whereas  eternity  is  noumenal,  changeless,  extending  into 
neither  the  "past"  nor  the  "future,"  and  therefore  is  an  immeas- 
urable "present." 

The  aeonian  evangel  relates  only  to  the  cycle  of  generation — from 
which  the  hero  of  the  Apocalyptic  drama,  the  Conqueror,  is  about  to 
be  emancipated,  after  final  judgment  has  been  passed  upon  his  deeds 
during  the  aeon,  in  which  he  has  been  successively  incarnated  among 
all  the  races  and  peoples  who  have  had  their  lesser  cycles  in  the  vast 
period  of  human  evolution. 

The  Fire  That  Destroys  Lust 

Ch.  XIV.  8 

8  Another,  a  second  Divinity,  came  after  [him],  saying: 

"She  fell!  Babylon  the  great  fell — she  who  has  made  all  the 
people  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  lust  of  her  prostitution !" 

COMMENTARY 

Babylon,  elsewhere  called  the  Woman  in  scarlet,  personifies  the 
physical  nature,  the  carnal  body  and  the  lust  for  existence  inherent 
in  its  elements.  It  has  "fallen"  only  in  the  sense  that  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  Conqueror  has  become  free  from  its  trammels. 

The  Fire  That  Purifies  the  Lower  Mind 
Ch.  XIV.  9-13 

9  Another  Divinity,  the  third,  came  after  them,  saying  with  a 
great  voice : 


364  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"If  any  one  worships  the  Beast  and  his  image,  and  receives  a 
brand  on  his  forehead  or  on  his  [right]  hand,  10  he  also  shall 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  God's  ardor  which  has  been  poured  out  raw 
into  the  wine-cup  of  his  passion ;  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire 
and  sulphur  in  presence  of  the  holy  Divinities  and  in  presence  of 
the  Ram.  1 1  The  smoke  of  their  torment  keeps  going  up  through- 
out aeons  of  aeons,  and  no  rest  day  or  night  are  they  having  who 
worship  the  Beast  and  his  image,  and  whosoever  receives  the  brand 
of  his  name.  12  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  devotees,  those  who 
are  keeping  the  commands  of  the  God  and  the  belief  of  lesous." 

13  I  heard  a  voice  from  the  sky,  saying: 

"Write :  Immortal  are  'the  dead'  who  die  in  the  Master  hence- 
forth. 'Yea,'  says  the  Breath,  'that  they  may  cease  from  their 
labors — yet  their  zvorks  accompany  them.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

The  creative  Breath,  which  at  its  deific  source  is  the  supernal 
Love,  becomes,  in  the  spheres  of  generation,  the  force  which  en- 
genders bodies,  and  in  that  respect  the  worshippers  of  the  Beast 
and  his  image,  the  personal  God,  partake  of  it,  and  thereby  are 
constantly  undergoing  the  miseries  of  embodied  existence,  in  which 
they  find  no  abiding  peace.  Yet  physical  existence  is  in  reality  a 
purificatory  discipline,  like  the  fumigating  with  sulphur  (a  common 
practice  with  the  ancients)  alluded  to  by  loannes.  The  followers 
of  lesous,  the  spiritual  Mind,  knowing  this,  endure  life  with  patience 
and  faith  in  the  divine  justice.  The  "dead"  are  the  living  dead,  the 
embodied  souls,  who  "die  in  the  Master"  only  when  they  attain  lib- 
eration from  the  sepulchre  of  the  carnal  body,  ceasing  then  from 
their  toil  but  retaining  the  fruition  of  their  good  works.  The  same 
idea  is  presented  very  forcibly  and  beautifully  by  Plato  in  the 
Phaidon  (p.  64  et  seq.),  where  he  explains  that  the  true  disciple  of 
philosophy  "is  ever  pursuing  death  and  dying" ;  for  "all  experience 
shows  that  if  we  would  have  pure  knowledge  of  anything  we  must 
be  quit  of  the  body."  He  defines  death  as  "the  release  of  the  soul 
from  the  chains  of  the  body,"  and  regeneration  as  "the  birth  of  the 
dead  into  the  world  of  the  living." 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  365 

The  Solar  Lord  of  the  Fires,  and  the  Divine  Fire 

Ch.  XIV.  14-16 

14  I  saw;  and,  behold!  a  white  cloud;  and  on  the  cloud  [I  saw] 
sitting  [a  Divinity]  like  the  son  of  man,  having  on  his  head  a  golden 
crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  keen  sickle. 

15  Another  Divinity  came  out  from  the  adytum,  crying  out  with 
a  loud  voice  to  the  [Divinity]  seated  on  the  cloud  : 

"Thrust  out  your  sickle  and  reap,  for  the  hour  to  reap  has  come ; 
for  the  earth's  harvest  is  dried  up." 

16  The  [Divinity]  seated  on  the  cloud  struck  his  sickle  on  the 
earth,  and  the  earth  was  reaped. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Fifth  Divinity  represents  the  First  Logos,  here  seated  in  the 
nimbus;  for  he  is  the  overshadowing  Self,  the  Uncrucified,  or  unin- 
carnated.  He  reaps  the  scant  harvest  of  the  psy- 
chic nature.  It  will  be  noticed  that  wherever  he 
is  referred  to  in  this  passage  the  word  "Divinity" 
(angclos)  has  been  expunged  from  the  text,  ap- 
parently by  some  zealot  who,  recognizing  the  _. 
description  as  that  of  the  Christos,  tampered  with 
the  manuscript  with  the  same  motive,  presumably,  which  prompts 
the  modern  "orthodox"  translators  to  shade  misleadingly  the  values 
of  the  Greek  tenses,  in  very  many  instances. 

The  Lord  of  the  Gnostic  Mind,  and  the  Perfective  Fire 

Ch.  XIV.  17-20 

17  Came  from  the  adytum  which  is  in  the  sky  another  Divinity, 
he  also  having  a  keen  sickle. 

18  Another  Divinity  came  out  from  the  altar — he  who  has  au- 
thority over  fire— and  he  gave  voice  with  a  great  shout  to  the  one 
who  had  the  keen  sickle,  saying: 


366  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Thrust  out  your  keen  sickle  and  pick  the  grape-clusters  of  the 
earth's  vine,  for  her  bunches  of  grapes  are  ripened." 

19  The  Divinity  struck  his  sickle  into  the  earth  and  stripped  the 
earth's  vine,  and  threw  [the  grapes]  into  the  wine-vat,  the  great 
[womb]  of  the  God's  ardor.  20  The  wine-vat  was  trodden  outside 
the  city,  and  blood  issued  from  the  wine-vat,  up  to  the  bridles  of 
the  horses,  as  far  as  one  thousand  and  six  hundred  stadia. 

COMMENTARY 

The  second  of  the  two  Reapers  is  the  Second  Logos,  and  he  reaps 
the  spiritually  dynamic  nature,  which  on  the  plane  of  creative  forces 
corresponds  to  the  fivefold  noetic  group.  The  "vine"  of  this  con- 
quest is  identical  with  the  "river  Euphrates"  of  the  three  other 
conquests.  Physiologically,  it  is  the  spinal  cord,  the  path  of  the  five 
prdnas,  or  life-winds,  which  are  now,  by  the  exigencies  of  the  alle- 
gory, metamorphosed  into  bunches  of  grapes.  These  solar  forces, 
permeating  and  energizing  the  aura  (the  wine-vat  outside  the  city), 
produce  a  return  current  to  the  cJiakras  of  the  four  somatic  divisions 
(the  bridles  of  the  horses)  and  into  the  solar  body,  the  1,600,  or 
to  heliakon  soma.     It  is  a  process  analogous  to  fetal  nutrition. 

In  stellar  symbolism,  each  of  these  seven  Divinities  may  be  recog- 
nized among  the  constellations.  Thus,  for  instance,  as  Aries,  the 
Sion  of  the  allegory,  rises  in  the  eastern  horizon,  the  Eagle  is  near 
the  zenith,  together  with  the  Swan  and  the  Celestial  Vulture,  these 
being  the  three  Divinities  who  are  said  to  fly  in  the  mid-sky. 

The  word  drepanon  signifies  both  "sickle"  and  "scimitar."  The 
Sickle  is  a  group  of  seven  stars  in  Leo ;  while  a  sickle-shaped  sword, 
or  scimitar,  is  held  in  the  hand  of  Perseus  (the  northern  parana- 
tellon  of  Taurus)  and  is  the  weapon  wielded  by  him  in  his  fight  with 
the  Sea-monster,  Kctos,  according  to  the  fable.  The  first  Reaper  is 
Zeus,  the  Regent  of  Leo,  and  the  "white  cloud"  on  which  he  is 
"seated"  is  the  heavenly  aether,  represented  by  the  sign  Virgo,  whose 
Regent,  Demeter,  directs  the  reaping  of  the  grain.  The  second 
Reaper,  Perseus-Dionysos,  reaps  the  wine-grapes  by  command  of 
the  Fire-God  Hephaistos,  who  acts  as  Regent  of  Aries  in  place  of 
his  polar  opposite,  Athena. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  367 


THE  FOURTH  OF  THE  SEVENFOLD  CONQUESTS- 

THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  MOST  SACRED 

EARTH 

The  Seven  Libations  of  Regenerative  Force 
Chapter  xv.  1-4 

1  I  saw  another  constellation  in  the  sky,  great  and  wonderful, 
[and  in  it]  seven  Divinities  having  the  seven  retributions,  the  final 
[ordeals],  for  by  them  the  God's  ardor  is  finished. 

2  I  saw  [a  sheen],  as  it  were  a  glassy  sea,  mixed  with  fire,  and 
those  who  were  Conquerors  of  the  Beast,  of  his  image,  and  of  the 
number  of  his  name,  standing  on  the  glassy  sea,  having  lyres  of 
the  God.  3  They  keep  chanting  the  lyric  of  Moses,  a  slave  of  the 
God,  and  the  lyric  of  the  Ram,  saying : 

"Great  and  wonderful  are  thy  works,  O  Master-God,  the  All- 
Dominator.  Just  and  true  are  thy  paths,  thou  Ruler  of  the  ^ons. 
4  Who  shall  not  fear,  O  Master,  and  glorify  thy  name?  For  thou 
art  the  Only  Sanctified.  For  all  the  people  shall  come  and  worship 
before  thee.    For  thy  just  deeds  have  been  made  manifest." 

COMMENTARY 

This  constellation  is  Taurus,  and  the  seven  Divinities  answer  to 
the  Hyades,  the  group  of  stars  situated  in  the  head  of  the  stellar 
Bull,  who  is  the  symbol  of  spiritual  generative  force.  In  later 
mythology  the  Hyades  are  said  to  have  been  the  Nymphs  who 
reared  Bakchos.  Here  they  are  simply  the  seven  planetary  Gods 
reduplicated,  as  are  also  the  Pleiades  and  various  other  stellar  groups 
of  seven. 

In  the  Old  Testament  mythology,  Moses  represented  the  Sun  in 
Aries.  His  paean  of  victory  after  crossing  the  Red  Sea  {E.v.  xiv. 
26-31;  XV.  1-21)  is  presumably  the  one  here  referred  to;  for  the 
Red  Sea  stood  for  the  sea  of  generation.  The  crystalline  and  fiery 
sea  is  the  celestial  aether.     The  "All-Dominator"  is  the  Sun-God; 


368  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

and  the  Chief  of  the  ^ons,  the  Gnostic  Michael,  is  Hermes,  the 
Guardian  of  the  Paths,  'Epfirjs  oStos. 

Ch.  XV.  5-8;  XVI.  I 

5  After  these  [things]  I  saw,  and  the  adytum  of  the  tent-temple 
of  the  evidence  in  the  sky  was  opened.  6  Came  out  from  the  ady- 
tum the  seven  Divinities  having  the  seven  retributions  clothed  in 
flawless  and  brilliant  [diamond-] stone,  and  girded  about  their 
breasts  with  golden  girdles.  7  One  of  the  four  Beings  gave  the 
seven  Divinities  seven  golden  libation-saucers  full  of  the  ardor  of 
the  God  who  lives  throughout  the  aeons  of  the  aeons.  8  The  adytum 
was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of  the  God  and  from  his 
inherent  force,  and  no  one  was  able  to  go  into  the  adytum  until  the 
seven  retributions  of  the  seven  Divinities  should  be  finished,  i  I 
heard  a  great  voice  from  the  adytum,  saying  to  the  seven  Divinities : 

"Go  and  pour  out  into  the  earth  the  seven  libation-saucers  of  the 
God's  ardor." 

COMMENTARY 

The  seven  superlatively  pure  and  dazzling  Divinities  who  emerge 
from  the  "most  holy  place"  of  the  tabernacle  are,  like  the  Planetary 
Logos  whose  apparition  is  described  in  the  opening  vision,  andro- 
gynous :  each  is  a  male  figure  with  female  breasts  and  wearing  the 
girdle  of  Aphrodite.  Here,  however,  the  word  stcthc  is  used,  which 
is  applicable  to  either  sex,  while  in  the  other  instance  the  word  is 
mastoi,  which  applies  more  particularly  to  the  female  breasts.  The 
hcrinaphroditos,  or  blended  figure  of  Hermes  (Mercury)  and 
Aphrodite  (Venus),  was  a  familiar  figure  in  Greek  art.  In  both  the 
Greek  and  the  Jewish  mystery-paraphernalia  the  "ark"  contained 
the  male  and  female  emblems.  As  the  Planetary  Logos  is  inverted, 
mirrored  upside-down  in  the  material  world,  these  seven  andro- 
gynous Divinities,  although  they  have  to  do  with  the  lowest  of  the 
somatic  divisions,  are  yet  the  highest  and  purest  of  all.  They  are 
the  finishers  of  the  great  work  of  regeneration,  and  the  precursors 
of  the  Conqueror  on  the  white  horse.  Each  has  a  phialc,  or  patera, 
a  shallow  cup,  or  saucer,  used  in  pouring  out  drink-ofiferings  to  the 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  369 

Gods,  and  the  libations  they  pour  out  consist  of  the  primordial 
creative  force-substance— the  sether.  This  aether,  as  symbolized  by 
the  diamond-glittering  raiment  of 
the  seven  Divinities,  is  colorless 
and  without  qualities  of  its  own ; 
but  all  qualities  are  imparted  to  it 
by  the  Thought  of  the  God.  As 
Paracelsus  says,  "All  things  when 
they  come  from  the  hand  of  God 
are  white;  he  colors  them  after- 
ward according  to  his  pleasure." 
The  word  plege,  literally,  "a 
blow,"  here  signifies  "a  plague" 

or  affliction  sent  by  the  Gods,  evidently  in  the  same  sense  as  poine, 
"retribution."    It  is  so  employed  also  in  xi.  6. 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Emotional  Nature 
Chapter  xvi.  2 

2  The  first  [Divinity]  went  and  poured  out  his  libation-saucer 
into  the  earth.  It  became  a  bad  and  painful  sore  upon  the  men  who 
had  the  brand  of  the  Beast,  and  who  worshipped  his  image. 

COMMENTARY 

The  earth,  or  lowest  division,  is  the  throne  of  the  Pseudo-Seer ; 
and  the  worshippers  of  the  Beast  and  his  image  are  the  forms  of 
thought  mirrored  in  this  lowest  reflector  of  the  noetic  consciousness, 
where  they  become  distorted  into  the  crude  elemental  notions  of 
religion.  These  are  represented  as  ulcerating;  for  the  time  has 
come  for  the  complete  eradication  of  the  centres  whence  they  radi- 
ate. The  material  world,  in  which  all  things  are  subject  to  decom- 
position and  death,  may  well  be  regarded  as  an  ulcer  on  the 
universe.  The  words  in  the  text  may  quite  as  well  be  construed, 
"It  (the  earth)  became  a  bad  and  painful  sore  as  to  the  men  who 
had  the  brand  of  the  beast"— instead  of  "a  sore  upon  the  men." 


370  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Psychic  Nature 
Ch.  XVI.  3 

3  The  second  Divinity  poured  out  his  Hbation-saucer  into  the  sea. 
It  became  blood  hke  a  dead  man's,  and  every  psychic  form  of  Hfe 
in  the  sea  died. 

COMMENTARY 

The  sea,  or  umbilical  centre,  is  the  throne  of  the  Dragon,  the 
epithumetic,  lower  psychic  nature.  The  libation  eliminates  from  it 
the  last  vestiges  of  the  passions  and  desires;  and  the  aura  of  this 
division  is  then  sufTused  by  the  golden,  orange-yellow  color  of  the 
prdnas. 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Phrenic  Nature 

Ch.  XVI.  4-7 

4  The  third  Divinity  poured  out  his  libation-saucer  into  the  rivers 
and  the  springs  of  the  waters,  and  the  [waters]  became  blood.  5 
I  heard  the  Divinity  of  the  waters  saying: 

"Thou  art  just,  thou  who  [forever]  art,  who  wast,  and  who  art 
sanctified;  for  thou  didst  pass  this  sentence  upon  [the  followers  of 
the  Beast]  :  6  for  they  poured  out  the  blood  of  devotees  and  seers, 
and  blood  thou  hast  given  them  to  drink;  for  they  are  deserving 
[of  it]." 

7  I  heard  [the  Divinity  hovering  above]  the  altar  saying: 
"Verily,  O  Master-God,  the  All-Dominator,  true  and  just  are  thy 
judgments !" 

COMMENTARY 

The  rivers  and  springs  are  the  throne  of  the  Beast ;  it  receives 
the  golden  color  when  the  solar  force  reaches  it.  Its  regent  is  the 
phrenic  mind,  which  distorts  and  falsifies  the  intuitions  reaching  it 
from  the  noetic  faculty.  The  Divinity  of  the  waters  is  the  Zoon 
corresponding  to  this  centre,  and  the  one  hovering  over  the  altar 
is  the  Sun-Lord :  in  the  second  conquest  he  cast  the  fire  of  the  altar 
into  the  earth   (viii.  3),  thus  identifying  himself  with  Dionysos, 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  371 

who  was  called  "the  sower  of  fire-seed."     In  Luke  xii.  49  lesoiis 
says,  "I  came  to  cast  fire  into  the  earth." 

Here  the  w^ord  "coming,"  in  the  formula  applied  to  the  God,  is 
replaced  by  "sanctified" ;  for  now  the  God  has  come,  the  future 
being  merged  in  the  present. 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Noetic  Nature 
Ch.  XVI.  8,  9 

8  The  fourth  Divinity  poured  out  his  libation-saucer  upon  the 
sun.  [Authority]  was  given  it  to  scorch  men  with  fire.  9  Men 
were  scorched  with  great  heat,  and  they  reviled  the  name  of  the 
God  W'ho  has  authority  over  these  retributions ;  but  they  did  not 
reform  to  give  him  glory. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Sun  is  the  throne  of  the  Sky-God,  the  Regent  of  the  intel- 
lectual nature.  The  outpouring  of  the  spcircuia  upon  this  centre 
produces  intense  mental  strain.  The  intellectual  forces  are  repre- 
sented as  unrepentant  and  profane,  simply  because  the  Nous,  undif- 
ferentiated Thought,  is  the  "only  sanctified." 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Gnostic  Nature 
Ch.  XVI.  10,  1 1 

10  The  fifth  Divinity  poured  out  his  libation-saucer  upon  the 
throne  of  the  Beast.  His  realm  became  darkened;  and  his  [sub- 
jects] gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  11  and  reviled  the  God  of 
the  sky  because  of  their  pains  and  sores;  but  they  did  not  reform 
from  their  works. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Beast's  throne,  as  a  somatic  division,  is  the  cardiac  centre; 
but  in  a  general  way  it  includes  the  whole  sympathetic  system,  of 
which  the  principal  chakra,  the  epigastric  plexus,  is  shared  by  the 
Dragon. 


2,72  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Final  Ordeal  of  the  Perfective  Nature — The  Expulsion 
of  the  Threefold  Elemental  Self 

Ch.  XVI.  12 

12  The  sixth  Divinity  poured  out  his  libation-saucer  upon  that 
great  river,  the  Euphrates.  Its  waters  were  dried  up,  so  that  there 
might  be  prepared  the  path  of  the  rulers  who  [come  out]  from  the 
birthplace  of  the  sun. 

COMMENTARY 

In  each  of  the  four  conquests  the  sixth  chakra  is  related  to  the 
cerebro-spinal  axis  and  the  five  prdnas,  the  solar  or  noetic  forces, 
since  the  forces  act  on  each  of  the  four  planes  of  existence,  to  which 
the  somatic  divisions  correspond.  In  this  final  conquest  the  waters 
of  the  Euphrates,  that  is,  the  magnetic  or  nerve  force  of  the  spinal 
system,  are  dried  up;  for  henceforth  the  solar  electric  fires  are  to 
take  their  place  permanently.  In  the  "sacred  city,"  the  solar  body, 
the  Euphrates  becomes  the  main-street,  or  thoroughfare,  "of  pure 
gold,  transparent  as  glass."  The  corpses  of  the  two  fire-breathing 
"witnesses"  were  said  (xi.  8-ii)  to  lie  in  the  main-street  of  the  city 
(the  physical  body)  until  their  resurrection;  these  witnesses  have 
power  "to  chastise  the  earth  with  every  retribution." 

Ch.  xvi.  13-16 

13  I  saw  [coming]  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Dragon,  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Pseudo-Seer,  three 
unpurified  spirits,  like  frogs.  14  For  they  are  spirits  of  spectres, 
making  omens,  [and]  they  are  going  out  among  the  rulers  of  the 
whole  home-land,  to  muster  them  for  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
[of  the  coming]  of  the  God,  the  All-Dominator.  15  [The  God 
says :] 

"Behold!  I  am  coming  [silently],  like  a  thief.  Immortal  is  he 
who  stays  awake  and  keeps  on  his  outer  garments,  so  that  he  may 
not  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame." 

16  They  mustered  them  in  the  place  which  is  called  in  Hebrew 
Harmagcdoii. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  373 

COMMENTARY 

The  forces  expelled  by  the  drying  up  of  the  "Euphrates"  issue 
from  the  three  lower  somatic  centres  and  form  a  psychic  entity 
analogous  to  the  ghost  of  a  deceased  person :  the  after-death  process 
of  purification  undergone  by  the  soul  takes  place  before  death  in 
him  who  "dies  in  the  Master."  The  soul  of  the  disincarnated  man, 
before  entering  upon  its  period  of  blissful  rest  in  the  higher  world- 
soul,  the  spiritual  realm,  has  to  purge  itself  of  all  the  evil  forces 
and  elements  of  the  psychic  nature;  and  these  discarded  elements 
remain  in  the  lower  world-soul,  the  phantasmal  realm,  where  they 
constitute,  for  a  time,  a  psychic  entity  wearing  the  semblance  of  the 
departed  personality,  its  ghost,  shade  or  spectre — an  elemental  self, 
which  is  a  congeries  of  all  the  impure  and  evil  constituents  thus 
rejected  by  the  soul.  In  Greek  mysticism,  as  expounded  by  Plotinos 
and  others,  this  higher  world-soul  was  termed  Zeus,  and  the  lower 
world-soul,  which  is  next  to  the  material  realm  and  is  rendered  foul 
by  the  impure  emanations  from  the  latter,  was  called  Rhea ;  the 
latter  stands  for  the  Kabbalistic  "astral  light,"  which  is  kinetically 
charged  with  the  evil  impulses  and  thoughts  of  humanity,  and  espe- 
cially with  the  foul  sexuality  of  the  depraved  portion  of  mankind, 
and  by  its  hypnotic  influence  is  a  constant  inciter  to  crime  and  vice. 
In  this  realm  the  spectre  gradually  disintegrates ;  but  the  elements 
composing  it  are  again  attracted  to  the  soul  when  it  reincarnates. 
But  in  the  case  of  the  individual  who  is  engaged  in  the  telestic  work 
this  elemental  self  becomes  a  malignant  demon,  against  which  he 
must  constantly  be  on  his  guard,  and  which  he  must  eventually 
destroy.  The  impure  "spirits"  {pncumata)  are  said  to  congregate 
in  the  place  called  Hannagcdon.  The  scholiasts  have  failed  to  find 
even  a  plausible  Hebrew  derivation  for  this  word;  the  supposition 
that  it  stands  for  "Mount  Megiddo"  meets  with  the  difficulty  that 
the  only  Megiddo  known  to  geography  was  a  city  on  a  plain.  Con- 
sidered as  an  anagram,  Hannagedon  forms  Rhea  'dag)iidn,  "Rhea 
of  the  prurient  itchings  or  desires" — a  very  accurate  characteriza- 
tion of  the  anima  hruta,  or  brute-soul  of  the  world,  which  Rhea 
typified.     The  worship  of  the  Goddess  Rhea,  who  was  called  also 


374  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Kybele,  Astarte,  and  by  many  other  names  and  titles,  was  wide- 
spread among  oriental  nations.  Her  numerous  temples  abounded  in 
"consecrated  women,"  and  as  the  Magna  Mater,  "the  Great  Mother" 
of  these  prostitutes,  she  was  worshipped  with  shameless  orgiastic 
rites.     Originally,  however,  Rhea  symbolized  the  celestial  aether. 

The  Final  Triumph— The  Spiritual  Birth  of  the  Conqueror 

Ch.  XVI.  17-21 

17  The  seventh  Divinity  poured  out  his  libation-saucer  into  the 
air.  There  came  a  great  voice  from  the  adytum  of  the  sky — from 
the  throne — saying: 

"He  has  been  born !" 

18  There  came  to  be  lightnings,  voices  and  thunders;  and  there 
came  to  be  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  had  not  happened  since  men 
were  born  upon  the  earth — such  and  so  great  an  earthciuake. 

19  The  great  city  came  to  be  in  three  divisions.  The  cities  of 
the  people  fell ;  and  Babylon  the  great  was  remembered  in  the 
thought  of  the  God,  to  give  to  her  the  wine-cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
ardor  of  his  passion.  20  Every  island  fled,  and  the  mountains  were 
not  found.  21  Great  hail,  like  hundred-pound  [catapult  missiles], 
kept  coming  down  from  the  sky  upon  men,  and  men  reviled  the 
God  because  of  the  scourge  of  the  hail;  for  its  scourge  was  exceed- 
ingly great. 

COMMENTARY 

The  voice  from  the  adytum,  that  of  the  First  Logos,  announces 
the  birth  "from  above"  of  the  Conqueror,  who  thereupon  appears 
on  the  white  horse;  but  before  this  apparition  is  described  a  digres- 
sion is  made,  to  introduce  explanatory  matter. 

The  "voices  and  thunders"  should  be  "voices  of  the  seven  thun- 
ders," as  in  X.  3 ;  so  also  in  iv.  5,  viii.  5  and  xi.  19. 

The  great  city,  the  physical  body,  is  now  three-divisional,  the 
minor  cities,  the  procreative  centres,  having  been  extirpated; 
"cities"  might  here  be  rendered  "dwellings."  The  word  ethnc, 
"people,"  signifies  also  "castes"  and  "sexes." 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  375 

The  Lower  World-Soul,  and  the  Lust  for  Material  Life 
Chapter  xvii.  1-5 

I  Came  one  of  the  seven  Divinities  who  had  the  seven  libation- 
saucers,  and  talked  with  me,  saying : 

"Hither!  I  shall  show  you  the  judgment  of  the  great  prostitute 
who  is  sitting  on  the  many  waters,  2  with  whom  the  rulers  of  the 
earth  committed  fornication — and  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth 
became  intoxicated  with  the  wine  of  her  prostitution." 

3  He  carried  me  away  in  the  Breath  [-trance]  into  the  desert; 
and  I  saw  a  Woman  sitting  on  a  scarlet  Beast  [having  his  mouth] 
full  of  names  of  profanity,  and  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 
4  The  Woman  was  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  over-jewelled  with 
gold,  precious  stone  and  pearls,  having  in  her  hand  a  golden  wine- 
cup,  full  of  the  stenches  and  filth  of  her  prostitution.  5  On  her 
forehead  was  a  name  written  : 

"A  Mystery:  Babylon  the  great,  the  'Mother'  of  the  [temple-] 
prostitutes  and  of  the  earth's  stenches." 

COMMENTARY 

The  two  "Women"  of  the  Apocalypse  are  both  "Goddesses,"  in 
the  pagan  sense,  precisely  as  the  "Angels"  are  merely  the  Gods  of 
the  pagan  pantheon ;  and,  whether  Christian  or  pagan,  all  these 
Gods  and  Goddesses  are  the  personified  powers  and  principles  of 
the  macrocosm  and  the  microcosm.  Babylon,  as  the  "mighty  city," 
is  the  human  body ;  and  as  the  fallen  Woman  she  is  a  Goddess,  the 
Magna  Mater  of  the  temple-prostitutes  in  the  Mystery-cult  of  Rhea, 
or  Astarte. 

Babylon,  the  human  body,  is  a  Mystery,  truly.  The  anatomists, 
physiologists,  surgeons  and  physicians,  who  have  studied  this  Mys- 
tery even  on  a  strictly  empirical  and  materialistic  basis,  have  gained 
more  knowledge  of  the  divine  Life  manifested  in  the  material 
world,  and  have  conferred  vastly  greater  benefits  on  the  human 
race,  than  have  all  the  exoteric  religionists  who  have  wasted  their 
lives  in  formulating  fantastic  theologies  and  in  coercing  their  fel- 


376  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

low-men  into  the  worship  of  that  figment  of  the  unenhghtened  mind 
—the  personal  God.  But  Babyldn  represents  more  than  the  physical 
body  considered  as  a  mere  form  composed  of  various  tissues,  a 
congeries  of  functional  organs:  it  symbolizes  also  the  broad  prin- 
ciple of  generation,  of  life  confined  to  a  physical  basis.  According 
to  the  arcane  science,  which  I5annes  has  outlined  in  allegorical 
language,  forces  are  subtile  elements,  and  the  material  elements 
are  forces  that  have  grown  inert;  and  all  the  forces  and  elements 
have  their  origin  in  the  celestial  aether,  the  Arche,  or  "first  prin- 
ciple." The  Sun-clothed  Virgin  of  the  Sky,  who  gives  birth  to  the 
man-child  by  the  gestation  of  the  solar  body  of  the  Conqueror,  is 
the  pure  aether,  the  primordial  force-substance;  but  in  the  spheres  of 
animal-human  generation,  where  that  aether  has  become  differen- 
tiated into  the  gross  material  elements,  she  is  the  unchaste  female, 
the  mother  of  all  that  is  abominable.  As  an  external  form,  a  mar- 
vellous organism  evolved  by  the  soul  for  its  own  divine  purposes, 
the  body  is"  the  adytum  of  the  God;  but  the  elements  composing  it 
have  become  foul  during  the  long  ages  of  material  evolution,  so 
that  the  soul  is  ever  being  tainted  and  instigated  to  evil  by  the 
impure  emanations  and  vicious  impulses  which  have  become  inher- 
ent in  the  physical  organism.  It  is  thus  a  Mystery  at  once  divine 
and  infernal,  at  which  the  seer  represents  himself  as  gazing  in 
wonder. 

As  a  Goddess,  the  infernal  Aphrodite,  the  depraved  Virgo  sym- 
bolizes the  anima  hruta,  or  lower  world-soul,  which  is  saturated  with 

sexuality.  In  this  role  she  holds  a  cup, 
which  is  the  adjacent  constellation  Crater, 
the  Mixing-bowl  fabled  to  have  belonged 
to  Bakchos. 

Babylon,  once  the  glorious  city  of  the 
Chaldees,  and  a  centre  of  magic  and  mys- 
tery, had  fallen  into  ruins  before  the  time 
the  Apocalypse  was  written.    Jackals  and 
^^^^^^  hyenas   prowled   in   its   deserted   streets; 

and  by  the  superstitious  it  was  looked  upon  with  dread  and  sup- 
posed to  be  the  special  haunt  of  demons. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  377 

Ch.  XVII.  6-8 

6  I  saw  the  Woman  intoxicated  with  the  blood  of  the  devotees 
and  with  the  blood  of  the  witnesses  of  lesous.  When  I  saw  her,  I 
gazed  in  wonderment,  with  great  curiosity.  7  Said  the  Divinity  to 
me: 

"Why  did  you  wonder?  I  shall  tell  you  the  mystery  of  the 
Woman,  and  of  the  Beast  that  was  carrying  her,  which  has  the 
seven  heads  and  the  ten  horns.  8  The  Beast  which  you  saw  zvas, 
and  is  not,  and  is  about  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss  and  go  to 
destruction.  Those  who  dwell  on  the  earth — [every  one]  whose 
name  has  not  been  registered  on  the  scroll  of  life  since  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  universe — will  wonder  when  they  look  at  the  Beast, 
because  he  was^  and  is  not,  and  shall  be  present ! 

COMMENTARY 

The  red  Dragon,  the  epithumetic,  passional  nature,  is  the  prin- 
ciple which,  in  close  alliance  with  the  Beast,  or  phrenic  mind,  impels 
the  soul  to  continue  to  incarnate,  and  he  thus  sustains  the  Woman, 
who  typifies  physical  existence.  He  rises  from  the  abyss,  the  impure 
elements,  and  is  again  disintegrated  in  them  when  the  soul  is  puri- 
fied. The  formula,  ''was,  is  not,  and  shall  be  present,"  merely 
expresses  in  an  enigmatical  way  the  Platonic  doctrine  that  in  the 
spheres  of  generation  "nothing  really  is,  but  all  things  are  becom- 
ing" ;  that  is,  in  the  phenomenal  world  nothing  partakes  of  perma- 
nent being,  but  "all  things  are  being  created  and  destroyed,  coming 
into  existence  and  passing  into  new  forms."  The  men  who  have 
not  been  registered  on  the  scroll  of  life  are  simply  the  uninitiated. 

Ch.  XVII.  9-1 1 

9  "Here  is  the  intuitive  mind  that  has  cleverness :  the  seven  heads 
are  seven  mountains  on  which  the  \\'oman  is  sitting;  10  and  there 
are  seven  rulers,  [of  whom]  the  five  have  fallen,  and  the  one  is, 
and  the  other  has  not  yet  come,  and  when  he  does  come  he  must 
abide  a  little  while.     1 1   The  Beast  which  was  and  is  not,  is  himself 


378  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

also  an  eighth  and  is  [an  emanation]   from  the  seven — and  to  de- 
struction he  is  going. 

COMMENTARY 

The  seven  heads  of  the  Dragon  are,  like  those  of  the  Beast,  the 
seven  cardinal  desires,  but  in  the  one  they  are  mental,  in  the  other 
instinctual ;  and  the  seven  mountains  are  the  seven  chakras  through 
which  they  manifest  during  incarnation  (the  Woman  being  then 
seated  on  them),  and  they  dominate  in  turn  the  seven  incarnations 
through  which  the  neophyte  must  pass  in  conquering  them.  The 
irreclaimable  residue  of  the  epithumetic  principle,  which  goes  to 
form  the  after-death  spectre,  or  elemental  self,  is  the  eighth,  "the 
son  of  perdition."  The  Conqueror  is  represented  in  the  Apocalyptic 
drama  as  being  in  the  sixth  of  the  series  of  seven  incarnations,  so 
that  five  of  them  have  perished  and  the  seventh  is  yet  to  come ;  hence 
the  Dragon,  later  on  in  the  drama,  is  again  imprisoned  in  the  abyss, 
and  can  not  be  utterly  slain  until  that  seventh  and  last  incarnation. 
In  the  Buddhist  scriptures  the  second  of  the  "four  noble  paths" 
which  lead  to  eternal  peace  is  termed  sacrid-agamin,  "he  who  will 
return  (reincarnate)  but  once  more." 

Ch.  XVII.  12-14 

12  "The  ten  horns  which  you  saw  are  ten  rulers  who  have  not 
yet  received  a  realm ;  but  they  receive  authority  as  rulers  one  hour 
with  the  Beast.  13  These  have  one  purpose;  and  their  force  and 
authority  they  pass  along  to  the  Beast.  14  These  will  battle  with 
the  Ram,  and  the  Ram  will  conquer  them;  for  he  is  Master  of  mas- 
ters and  Ruler  of  rulers ;  and  those  who  [go  along]  with  him  are 
called  and  chosen  and  reliable." 

COMMENTARY 

The  ten  horns  are  the  five  pranas,  each  of  which  is  dual,  positive 
and  negative,  on  this  plane,  where  they  are  merely  the  life-winds, 
or  vital  forces;  they  are  not  related  to  the  chakras  as  the  tattvas  are, 
and  hence  are  said  to  have  no  realm  as  yet,  though  later  they  have 
the  spinal  axis  for  their  realm,  when  the  Ram  has  conquered  them. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  379 

Exuberant  animal  vitality,  by  intensifying  the  passional  nature, 
tends  away  from  spirituality ;  hence  these  forces  are  represented  as 
being  inimical  to  the  Nous,  yet  they  are  to  be  conquered  and  utilized. 
The  forces  subdued  are  here  classified  according  to  the  three  lower 
degrees  of  initiation  as  probationers,  neophytes,  and  those  of  proven 
integrity. 

In  Grecian  mythology  the  Daktyloi,  fabled  priests  versed  in  magic 
and  healing,  were  enumerated  sometimes  as  five,  but  more  fre- 
quently as  ten,  five  male  and  five  female,  thus  corresponding  to  the 
five  prdnas  and  five  subordinate  prdnas.  As  their  name  indicates, 
they  were  the  forces  as  expressed  by  the  fingers.  By  including  the 
prithivT  and  Brahma  tattvas,  which  are  specially  related  to  the  spinal 
axis,  the  pranas  are  sometimes  enumerated  as  twelve. 

Ch.  XVII.  15-18 

15  Also  he  says  to  me : 

"The  waters  which  you  saw,  where  the  prostitute  is  sitting,  are 
nations,  mobs,  peoples  and  tongues.  16  The  ten  horns  which  you 
saw  on  the  Beast — these  shall  abhor  the  prostitute  and  shall  make 
her  destitute  and  naked,  and  shall  devour  her  flesh  and  consume  her 
with  fire.  17  For  the  God  put  it  in  their  hearts  to  carry  out  his 
purpose,  to  carry  [it]  out  [as  their  own]  one  purpose,  and  to  give 
their  realm  to  the  Beast  until  the  instruction  of  the  God  should  be 
finished.  18  And  the  Woman  whom  you  saw  is  the  great  city  which 
has  a  realm  [extending]  over  the  rulers  of  the  earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The  waters  are  the  great  sea  of  generated  life,  humanity  in  its 
vast  cycle  of  material  and  psychic  evolution,  which  comprises  all 
lesser  racial  and  subracial  cycles,  in  each  of  which  every  individual 
plays  his  part;  and  the  whole  mighty  tide  of  life  slowly  works  out 
the  divine  purpose.  Even  the  minor  forces  of  the  individual  man 
have  in  them  the  impulse  of  this  purpose  of  the  God,  so  that  he  who 
runs  counter  to  it  invites  disease  and  destruction  from  the  very 
forces  that  normally  vitalize  his  physical  form.     The  "rulers  of  the 


38o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

earth"  are  the  underlying  forces  of  the  material  world ;  though  the 
phrase  may  also  be  taken  as  meaning  men  in  general,  as  the  highest 


of  the  animal  kingdom. 


The  Rejoicing  over  the  Conquest  of  the  Great  Illusion 

Chapter  xviii.  1-3 

I  After  these  [instructions]  I  saw  another  Divinity  coming 
down  out  of  the  sky,  having  great  power;  and  the  earth  was  lit  up 
by  his  glory.     2  He  cried  out  with  a  strong  voice,  saying : 

"She  fell !  The  great  Babylon  fell,  and  became  a  haunt  of  ghosts, 
a  prison  of  every  filthy  spectre  and  a  cage  of  every  filthy  and  un- 
clean bird  [of  prey].  3  For  through  the  wine  of  the  lust  of  her 
prostitution  all  the  people  are  drunk.  The  rulers  of  the  earth  com- 
mitted fornication  with  her;  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth  by  the 
force  of  her  lewdness  grew  rich." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Apocalyptic  hero,  having  conquered  in  the  ordeals  of  his 
initiation,  achieving  the  spiritual  rebirth,  has  risen  above  the  illu- 
sions of  life,  and  has  taken  his  place  among  the  deathless  Gods. 
The  exhortations  and  lamentations  which  follow  the  declaration 
of  the  radiant  Divinity  (Ares)  concerning  the  fall  of  Babylon  are 
of  a  general  nature,  applying  to  the  aggregate  of  humanity,  and 
not  at  all  to  the  Conqueror.  For,  as  there  are  two  crucifixions,  so 
there  are,  correspondingly,  two  falls.  The  fall  of  Babylon  referred 
to  by  the  Divinity  is  the  fall  into  mortal  corruption,  the  desecration 
by  humanity  of  their  physical  bodies,  which  they  have  converted 
into  holds  of  iniquity.  But,  as  pertaining  to  the  Conqueror,  the  fall 
of  Babylon  is  the  exact  reverse  of  this;  for  it  means  the  conquest, 
subjugation  and  purification  of  the  body. 

The  people,  rulers  and  merchants  who  were  debauched  by  the 
great  prostitute  are  the  four  lower  castes— the  toiling,  combative, 
commercial  and  intellectual  classes — while  the  Divinities  represent 
the  fifth  and  highest  class,  the  enlightened. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  JOANNES  381 

Ch.  XVIII.  4-20 

4  I  heard  another  voice  from  the  sky,  saying : 

"Come  out  from  her,  O  my  people,  so  that  you  may  not  have 
partnership  in  her  sins,  and  so  that  you  may  not  receive  of  her 
retributions !  5  For  her  sins  are  heaped  up  even  to  the  sky,  and  the 
God  has  held  in  memory  her  misdeeds.  6  Recompense  her  even  as 
she  recompensed,  and  repay  her  double  [wages],  according  to  her 
works.  In  the  wine-cup  which  she  poured  out,  pour  out  for  her  a 
double  [draught].  7  As  much  as  she  glorified  herself  and  grew 
lewd,  so  much  give  her  of  torment  and  mourning;  for  in  her  heart 
she  keeps  saying : 

"  'I  sit  enthroned  a  queen,  and  am  not  a  widow ;  and  I  shall  not 
at  all  see  mourning.' 

8  "Therefore  in  one  day  shall  come  her  retributions — death, 
mourning  and  hunger — and  she  shall  be  consumed  by  fire.  For 
strong  is  the  God  who  judged  her.  9  The  rulers  of  the  earth,  who 
committed  fornication  and  were  lustful  with  her,  shall  weep  and 
wail  over  her  when  they  look  at  the  smoke  of  her  conflagration,  10 
standing  afar  through  fear  of  her  torment,  saying : 

"'Woe!  Woe!  The  great  city,  Babylon,  the  strong  city!  For 
in  one  hour  has  come  your  judgment !' 

II  "The  merchants  of  the  earth  shed  tears  and  mourn  over  her, 
for  no  one  buys  their  stock  any  more — 12  the  stock  of  gold,  silver, 
precious  stone,  pearls,  byssus,  purple  [cloth]  and  silken  [fabrics] 
and  scarlet ;  and  all  thuja-wood,  every  ivory  utensil,  every  utensil 
[made]  of  very  precious  wood,  of  bronze,  of  iron  and  of  marble; 
13  and  cinnamon,  amomum,  incense,  ointment,  frankincense,  wine, 
oil,  flour,  wheat,  cattle  and  sheep;  and  [merchandise]  of  horses  and 
wagons — and  of  bodies  and  souls  of  men!  14  (The  fruits  of  your 
soul's  desire  are  gone  from  you,  and  all  dainty  and  radiant  [charms] 
have  perished  from  you,  and  [your  lovers]  shall  never  more  find 
them  at  all  [in  you].)  15  The  merchants  of  these  wares,  who  were 
enriched  by  her,  shall  stand  afar  through  fear  of  her  torment,  shed- 
ding tears  and  mourning,     16  saying: 

"  'Woe!    Woe!    The  great  city— she  who  was  arrayed  in  byssus 


382  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

[fabric],  purple  and  scarlet,  and  over-jewelled  with  gold,  precious 
stone  and  pearl!  17  For  in  one  hour  all  this  wealth  has  come  to 
destitution.' 

"And  every  sailing-master,  and  every  crew  on  the  ships,  sailors, 
and  as  many  as  toil  [on]  the  sea,  stood  afar  18  and  cried  out.  on 
seeing  the  smoke  of  her  conflagration,  saying: 

"  'What  [city]  is  the  equal  of  the  great  city?' 

19  "And  they  threw  dust  on  their  heads  and  cried  out,  weeping 
and  sorrowing,  saying: 

"  *Woe !  Woe !  The  great  city,  by  whom  all  were  enriched  who 
have  ships  on  the  sea,  from  her  bounti fulness!  For  in  one  hour  she 
has  come  to  destitution.' 

20  "Rejoice  over  her,  O  sky,  and  ye  devotees,  messengers  [of 
God]  and  seers !  For  the  God  has  passed  the  sentence  upon  her 
which  [she  passed  upon]  you." 

COMMENTARY 

The  "voice  from  the  sky"  is  that  of  the  regent  of  Taurus,  Aphro- 
dite, in  her  lunar  aspect  as  Selene,  -q  ravpoKepcos,  the  Bull-horned 
Goddess.  Owing  to  the  Christian  prejudice  against  the  fair  sex, 
the  Apocalyptist  had  to  be  cautious  in  designating  the  Goddesses. 
It  is  for  this  reason,  presumably,  that  Hermes  of  the  golden  wand 
appears  elsewhere  as  the  Guardian-God  of  Aries,  in  place  of  Athena, 
the  Goddess  of  Wisdom. 

Ch.  XVIII.  21-24 

21  A  lone  Divinity,  the  strong  one,  took  up  a  stone,  like  a  great 
millstone,  and  threw  it  into  the  sea,  saying : 

"Thus  by  a  violent  effort  shall  Babylon,  the  great  city,  be  thrown 
down,  and  shall  not  at  all  be  found  any  more.  22  The  voice  of 
lyrists,  musicians,  flutists  and  trumpeters  shall  not  at  all  be  heard  in 
thee  any  more;  no  craftsman,  of  whatever  craft,  shall  be  found  any 
more  at  all  in  thee ;  the  voice  of  a  millstone  shall  not  at  all  be  heard 
in  thee  any  more;  22,  the  light  of  a  lamp  shall  not  at  all  shine 
in  thee  any  more;  and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  of  the  bride 
shall  not  at  all  be  heard  in  thee  any  more.     For  thy  merchants  were 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  383 

the  magnates  of  the  earth.  For  by  thy  witchcraft  all  the  people 
were  deluded.  24  And  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  seers  and 
devotees,  and  of  all  who  have  been  sacrificed  on  the  earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Divinity  who  explained  the  nature  of  the  Woman  and  the 
Beast  is  Zeus,  the  Guardian  of  the  Leo-quarter  of  the  zodiac;  the 
Divinity  who  proclaimed  the  fall  of  Babylon  is  Ares,  the  Guardian 
of  the  Scorpio-quarter;  the  Divinity  who  exhorted  the  people  to 
come  forth  out  of  the  doomed  city  is  Aphrodite,  the  Guardian  of  the 
Taurus-quarter;  and  the  Divinity  who  cast  "the  millstone  of  the 
Gods"  into  the  sea  is  Kronos,  the  Guardian  of  the  Aquarius-quar- 
ter. The  four  thus  represent  the  quarters  of  the  zodiac,  the  somatic 
divisions  and  the  castes.  The  first  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
seven  who  poured  out  the  libation-saucers,  or  pateras ;  but  this  is 
true  also  of  the  others,  as  the  seven  Divinities  with  the  pateras  stand 
for  the  seven  planetary  Gods.  The  Lord  of  the  four  Divinities  is, 
of  course,  Hermes,  who  presides  over  the  initiation  and  reveals  to 
the  candidate  the  divine  mysteries. 

In  the  rejoicing  and  lamentation  over  the  prospective  fall  of 
Babylon  (an  event  which,  for  the  mass  of  mankind,  lies  in  the  ex- 
tremely remote  future)  the  four  castes  take  part.  The  highest  or 
spiritual  class  is  given  as  threefold,  composed  of  devotees,  divine 
messengers  and  seers;  but  they  utter  no  rejoicings,  the  Divinities 
acting  as  their  spokesmen.  The  profane,  comprising  the  rulers  or 
dominant  warlike  class,  the  merchants  or  trading  class,  and  the 
sailors,  the  toiling  masses  on  the  sea  of  life,  indulge  in  lamentations 
over  the  downfall  of  the  great  city.  For  the  present,  and  for  ages 
to  come,  in  Christian  and  pagan  lands  alike,  Astarte  remains  en- 
throned on  the  scarlet  Dragon,  "who  is  the  Devil  and  Satan,"  and  in 
this  twentieth  century  her  cup  is  more  overflowing  with  abomina- 
tions, and  the  traffic  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  and  of  women 
goes  on  even  more  briskly  and  heartlessly,  than  in  the  days  when 
Idannes  penned  his  mystic  scroll.  The  destruction  of  the  Apocalj'p- 
tic  Babylon  will  come  only  when  humanity  shall  have  learned  to 
loathe  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  and  to  love  the  glories  of  the  spirit. 


384  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Chapter  xix.  1-8 

I  After  these  [denunciations]  I  heard  [a  chorus],  as  it  were  the 
voice  of  a  vast  throng  in  the  sky,  saying: 

"Allelou'ia!  The  dehverance,  glory  and  force  are  our  God's.  2 
For  true  and  just  are  his  judgments :  for  he  has  judged  the  great 
prostitute,  who  corrupted  the  earth  with  her  prostitution,  and  he 
has  avenged  the  blood  of  his  slaves  at  her  hand." 

3  And  once  more  they  have  said : 

"AUclou'ia!  Her  smoke  keeps  going  up  throughout  the  aeons  of 
the  aeons!" 

4  The  twenty-four  Ancients  and  the  four  Beings  fell  down  and 
worshipped  the  God  seated  on  the  throne,  saying : 

"Amen.    Allcloit'ia!" 

5  A  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying: 

"Praise  ye  our  God,  all  ye  his  slaves,  and  ye  who  fear  him,  both 
the  young  and  the  old." 

6  And  I  heard  [a  chorus],  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  vast  throng, 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunders, 
saying : 

"Allclou'ia!  For  the  Master-God,  the  All-Dominator,  has  become 
ruler.  7  Let  us  rejoice  and  become  ecstatic,  and  let  us  give  to  him 
the  glory;  for  the  marriage  of  the  Ram  has  come,  and  his  wife  has 
made  herself  ready.  8  To  her  was  given  [the  right]  to  clothe 
herself  in  byssus [-vesture]  brilliant  and  pure;  for  byssus [-vestures] 
are  the  awards  to  the  devotees." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  main  action  of  the  drama  is  resumed :  the  chorus,  which 
is  the  seventh  and  last,  is  a  paean  of  victory  following  the  attainment 
by  the  Concjueror  of  the  Spiritual  Rebirth.  The  chorus  is  chanted 
by  all  the  powers  of  the  microcosmic  universe,  Apollon  being  the 
chorus-leader.  The  word  AUclou'ia,  which  is  not  found  elsewhere 
in  the  Neiv  Testament,  is  here  chanted  four  times.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  here,  as  in  the  Psalms,  the  Flebrew  HaUcln-Jah,  "Praise  ye 
Jah" ;  but  is  also  said  to  have  been  used  in  the  Mithraic  rites.    Here 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  385 

in  the  Apocalypse  it  appears  to  be  merely  a  substitute  for  the  Greek 
Elcleii  ie  found  in  the  ancient  hymns  to  Apollon,  and  to  be  a  cry  of 
triumph,  Hke  the  Latin  lo  tniimphe. 

The  marriage  (gainos)  was  one  of  the  symbohc  rites  in  the  Greek 
Mysteries ;  and  universally  in  mysticism  spirit  is  represented  as  the 
male,  and  matter  as  the  female  principle.  Here  the  "bride"  of  the 
Conqueror  is  the  solar  body — the  "fire-body"  of  the  Initiate. 

Byssus  was  a  fine  cloth,  naturally  of  a  yellow  color,  affected  by 
oriental  devotees.    It  represents  the  auric  color  of  a  saintly  man. 

Ch.  XIX.  9,  10 

9  And  to  me  [the  Divinity]  says : 

"Write :  Immortal  are  they  who  are  invited  to  the  wedding  dinner 
of  the  Ram." 

And  [again]  he  sa3^s  to  me: 

"These  are  the  arcane  doctrines  of  the  God." 

10  I  fell  down  before  his  feet  to  worship  him ;  but  he  says  to  me : 
"See  to  it  [that  you  do]  not.     I  am  a  fellow-slave  with  you  and 

wnth  your  brothers  who  have  the  evidence  of  lesous.  Worship  the 
God.    For  the  evidence  of  lesous  is  the  'Breath'  of  seership." 

COMMENTARY 

Absolute  certainty  of  the  divine,  immortal  nature,  the  conscious 
spiritual  Self,  can  be  had  only  through  the  sacred  trance,  in  which 
all  the  lower  faculties  are  placed  in  abeyance,  the  clamor  of  the 
senses,  emotions  and  thoughts  completely  stilled,  so  that  in  the  per- 
fect peace  and  silence  of  the  soul  the  voice  of  the  inner  Self  may 
become  audible.  This  trance-state  can  be  attained  only  through  the 
action  of  the  speircnia,  the  dynamic  working- force  of  the  paraklctos, 
or  "advocate,"  who  pleads  with  the  Father.  lesous,  the  evidence  of 
whom  is  said  to  be  the  Pneuma  of  seership,  is  here,  as  always,  the 
Sun-God,  typifying  the  Nous  or  Sunlike  Self.  He  is  the  Mystery- 
God  of  Seership,  Dionysos,  in  whose  cult  each  candidate  for  initia- 
tion aspired  to  become  the  God,  or,  in  other  words,  to  attain  to  union 
with  his  own  spiritual  Self.  The  anthropomorphized  lesous  of 
Christianity  is  merely  a  moral  example  to  his  worshippers. 


386  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

VI 

THE  EXTIRPATION  OF  THE  MORTAL  PRINCIPLES 
OF  THE  SOUL 

The  Mind-Born  Conqueror,  and  His  Spiritual  Powers 
Ch.  XIX.  11-16 

III  saw  the  sky  opened ;  and,  behold !  a  white  horse  [appeared], 
and  he  who  was  riding  him  is  called  Believable  and  True,  and  with 
justice  he  judges  and  gives  battle.  12  His  eyes  are  like  a  blaze  of 
fire,  and  on  his  head  are  many  diadems;  and  [on  his  forehead]  he 
has  a  name  written  which  no  one  knows  save  himself.  13  He  is 
clothed  in  a  garment  dyed  with  blood ;  and  his  name  is  called  "The 
Logos  of  the  God."  14  The  armies  in  the  sky  were  following  him, 
on  white  horses,  wearing  byssus [-robes],  white  and  pure.  15  From 
his  mouth  keeps  flashing  forth  a  keen  sword,  that  with  it  he  might 
chastise  the  people.  He  shall  rule  them  with  an  iron  wand.  He  is 
treading  the  wine-vat  [overflowing  with]  the  wine  of  the  ardor  of 
the  passion  of  the  God,  the  All-Dominator.  16  He  has  on  his 
garment  and  on  his  thigh  the  name  written,  "Ruler  of  rulers  and 
Master  of  masters." 

COMMENTARY 

The  hero  on  the  white  horse  is  the  Second  Logos,  the  incarnating 
Ego;  and  he  is  now  the  Conqueror,  who  by  indomitable  will  has 
completed  the  telestic  work,  and  is  no  longer  the  inverted  Logos. 
For  here  he  wears  the  aspect  of  Mars,  the  War-God,  who  in  the 
older  mythology  is  the  God  of  Generation ;  he  rules  with  a  rod  of 
iron,  the  metal  of  Mars ;  he  treads  the  wine-vat  of  regenerative 
force,  and  he  has  his  title  written  on  his  thigh — a  euphemism  for 
phallos,  as  in  Old  Testament  usage  {Gen.  xxvi.  2,  et  passim).  This 
means  that  the  Conqueror  has  attained  the  state  of  sinless  purity, 
having  eradicated  from  his  nature  everything  that  relates  to  the 
lower  phases  of  physical  existence.     He  now  goes  forth  to  the  final 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  387 

battle  with  the  elemental  self,  the  Tartarean  ghost  of  his  now  de- 
funct psycho-material  personality. 

The  Last  Battle,  and  the  Banquet  of  the  Birds  of  Prey 

Ch.  XIX.  17,  18 

17  I  saw  a  lone  Divinity  standing  in  the  sun.  He  cried  out  with 
a  great  voice,  saying  to  all  the  birds  [of  prey]  that  fly  in  mid-sky: 

"Come!  Flock  together  to  the  dinner  of  the  great  God,  18  so 
that  you  may  devour  the  flesh  of  rulers,  the  flesh  of  commanders, 
the  flesh  of  strong  [warriors],  the  flesh  of  horses  and  of  their  riders, 
and  the  flesh  of  all,  free  and  slave,  both  young  and  old." 

COMMENTARY 

The  "lone"  Divinities  are  the  Chief  Divinities  (orchangeloi), 
corresponding  to  the  Zoa;  here  the  one  standing  in  the  sun  is 
Michael  (Hermes),  he  who  drove  the  Dragon  from  the  sky. 

The  elemental  self  is  the  essence  of  impurity  in  the  psychic  and 
material  elements ;  and  as  a  sort  of  by-product,  so  to  say,  of  the 
evolutionary  aeon,  it  is  a  concretion  of  all  that  was  evil  in  each  incar- 
nation during  the  aeonian  sojourn  of  the  Ego  in  the  spheres  of 
generation:  it  is  therefore  the  "flesh,"  or  carnal  element,  of  kings, 
warriors  and  all  the  other  personalities  assumed  by  the  incarnating 
Self  in  the  drama  being  enacted  by  humanity. 

Ch.  XIX.  19-21 

19  I  saw  the  Beast,  and  the  rulers  of  the  earth  and  their  armies, 
drawn  together  to  do  battle  with  the  Rider  on  the  \\''hite  Horse  and 
his  army.  20  The  Beast  was  captured,  and  with  him  the  Pseudo- 
Seer  who  made  the  omens  in  his  sight,  by  which  he  deluded  those 
who  had  received  the  brand  of  the  Beast,  and  the  worshippers  of 
his  image.  The  two  [beasts]  w^ere  cast  alive  into  the  lake  of  fire 
which  flames  with  sulphur;  21  and  the  rest  were  slain  by  the 
sword  of  the  Rider  on  the  White  Horse,  [by  the  sword]  which  kept 
flashing  forth  from  his  mouth ;  and  all  the  birds  [of  prey]  were 
gorged  with  their  flesh. 


388  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  battles  in  the  Apocalypse  are  described  very  briefly,  as  short 
and  decisive  conflicts,  and  never  as  protracted  struggles.  In  this 
one,  the  instinctual  and  phrenic  principles  of  the  elemental  congeries 
are  apprehended  and  thrown  into  the  astral  fire  of  the  phantasmal 
world,  where  dissolution  is  their  ultimate  fate. 

Chapter  xx.  1-3 

I  I  saw  a  Divinity  coming  down  from  the  sky,  having  the  key 
of  the  abyss  and  a  great  chain  on  his  hand.  2  He  apprehended  the 
Dragon,  the  archaic  Snake,  who  is  the  Accuser  and  the  Adversary, 
and  enchained  him  for  a  thousand  years,  3  and  cast  him  into  the 
abyss,  and  locked  and  sealed  [it]  atop  of  him,  so  that  he  should  not 
delude  the  people  any  more  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  fin- 
ished ;  and  after  that  he  must  be  turned  loose  for  a  short  time. 

COMMENTARY 

Since  the  hero  of  the  Apocalypse  is  represented  as  being  in  the 
sixth  incarnation  of  the  seven  making  up  the  cycle  of  initiation,  he 
has  one  more  earth-life  to  undergo,  and  therefore  can  not  yet 
completely  destroy  the  epithumetic  principle ;  instead,  it  is  placed  in 
durance  for  a  thousand  years,  after  which  it  must  be  freed,  when 
the  hero  reincarnates,  whereupon  it  will  be  speedily  exterminated. 
This  seventh  incarnation  is  the  last  of  the  seven  rulers  who  are  the 
seven  heads  of  the  Dragon  ;  and  of  this  ruler  it  is  said  that  "when  he 
does  come  he  must  abide  a  little  while."  In  placing  the  time  be- 
tween incarnations  at  a  thousand  years  loannes  follows  Plato,  who 
gives  that  period,  as  in  Phaidros,  p.  249,  and  in  the  Republic,  p. 
615 ;  in  the  latter,  however,  where  he  is  relating  the  allegory  of  Er, 
Plato  explains  that,  owing  to  the  tenfold  intensity  of  sensation  in 
the  subjective  after-death  state,  "the  thousand  years  answer  to  the 
hundred  years  which  are  reckoned  as  the  lifetime  of  man." 

The  expression  "on  his  hand"  {eirl  Tr)v  X^P^  avTov)  is  probably 
a  solecism,  "in  his  hand"  being  intended.  The  Divinity  with  the 
chain  is  Zeus;  and  the  passage  is  distinctly  reminiscent  of  the  one 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  389 

in  the  Iliad  (viii.  5-26)  where  Zeus  threatens  to  throw  any  disobe- 
dient God  into  the  Tartarean  abyss,  and  proposes  to  use  his  golden 
chain  in  demonstrating  his  unequalled  strength. 

The  Aftei -Death  Bliss  of  the  Soul 
Ch.  XX.  4-6 

4  I  saw  thrones  and  [the  Gods  who]  sat  on  them ;  and  they  were 
empowered  to  judge.  And  [I  saw]  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been 
beheaded  on  account  of  the  evidence  of  lesous  and  on  account  of 
the  arcane  doctrine  of  the  God ;  also  those  who  did  not  worship 
the  Beast  or  his  image,  and  did  not  receive  his  brand  on  their  fore- 
head and  on  their  hand,  and  they  came  to  life  and  ruled  with  the 
Anointed  for  a  thousand  years ;  5  [but]  the  rest  of  the  dead  did 
not  come  to  life  again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This 
is  the  first  resurrection.  6  Immortal  and  holy  is  he  who  has  part  in 
the  first  resurrection ;  over  these  the  second  death  does  not  hold 
sway,  but  they  shall  be  sacrificers  to  the  God  and  his  Anointed,  and 
they  shall  rule  with  him  for  the  thousand  years. 

COMMENTARY 

\\'hen  the  Beast  and  the  Pseudo-Seer  were  cast  into  the  astral 
fire,  and  the  Dragon  was  incarcerated  in  the  abyss,  they  made  their 
final  exit  from  the  Apocalyptic  stage.  The  Conqueror  has  anni- 
hilated the  bogus  Lion  and  the  bogus  Ram ;  but  in  his  next  incarna- 
tion he  will  have  to  fight  and  destroy  the  Dragon,  the  bogus  Arche- 
Logos.  Yet  the  Apocalyptic  drama  covers  but  the  one  incarnation ; 
and  so,  rather  than  leave  in  uncertainty  the  issue  of  the  final  combat 
between  the  Conqueror  and  the  Dragon,  loannes  here  introduces  a 
side-scene  in  which  he  first  explains  in  a  general  way  what  happens 
to  the  soul  of  a  man  during  the  periods  between  incarnations,  and 
then,  carrying  into  the  future  the  story  of  the  Conqueror,  describes 
the  final  battle  in  the  next  incarnation,  resulting  in  the  defeat  and 
destruction  of  the  Dragon. 

The  thrones  and  those  enthroned  on  them  represent  a  typical 
individual  in  a  series  of  incarnations,  after  each  of  which,  upon  the 


390  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

death  of  the  physical  body,  the  enthroned  Self  passes  judgment  upon 
the  deeds  and  misdeeds,  on  the  planes  of  thought,  emotion  and  ac- 
tion, of  the  lower  self  during  the  preceding  earth-life.  All  the  pure 
and  noble  thoughts,  sentiments,  aspirations  and  memories  are  re- 
tained and  remain  in  the  deathless  Mind,  the  Nous,  throughout  the 
season  of  subjective  peace  and  bliss  which  the  soul  then  experiences; 
but  all  the  worthless  and  evil  elements  are  rejected  and  left  to  remain 
dormant  in  the  lower  psychic  realm,  dying  the  "second  death,"  and 
coming  to  life  only  when  the  soul  again  descends  into  the  spheres 
of  generation.  Thus  the  man's  own  past  is  his  personal  "Satan" 
and  "Devil,"  the  ancient  serpent  trailing  through  the  ages  and 
accusing  him  day  and  night  before  his  inner  God  who  is  his  right- 
eous Judge.  In  a  narrower  sense,  the  thrones  may  be  considered  as 
the  twelve  thrones  of  the  solar  powers,  and  "the  great  white  throne" 
as  that  of  the  Sun-God. 

The  Final  Purification  of  the  Soul 
Ch.  XX.  7-10 

7  When  the  thousand  years  are  finished,  the  Adversary  shall  be 
turned  loose  from  his  prison  8  and  shall  come  out  to  delude  the 
people  who  are  in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  (Gog  and  Magog), 
to  bring  them  together  for  battle,  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea.  9  They  went  up,  [their  battle-front  extending]  over  the 
width  of  the  earth,  and  surrounded  the  army  of  the  devotees,  and 
the  beloved  city.  And  fire  came  down  out  of  the  sky  and  consumed 
them.  10  The  Accuser,  the  deluder  of  them,  was  thrown  into  the 
lake  of  fire  and  sulphur,  where  also  are  the  Beast  and  the  Pseudo- 
Seer;  and  they  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night  throughout  the 
aeons  of  the  aeons. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  is  foretold  the  fate  of  the  Dragon,  the  epithumetic  principle, 
whose  desires,  passions  and  longings  are  as  numerous  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea.  But  they  have  now  no  lodging-place  in  the  purified 
nature  of  the  Conqueror,  and  exist  only  as  surviving  impressions 


THE  INITIATIOx\  OF  lOANNES  391 

and  impulses  impressed  like  phonographic  records  on  the  plastic 
world-soul,  and  as  a  malignant  composite  spectral  entity  they  assail 
him  from  without.  The  purifying  fire  obliterates  these  collective 
phantoms ;  and  their  focal  centre,  the  Dragon  in  his  capacity  as  the 
"eighth,"  shares  the  doom  of  the  bogus  Lion  and  the  bogus  Ram. 
The  clause  put  in  parentheses  is  evidently  some  scholiast's  marginal 
gloss  that  has  crept  into  the  text,  a  mere  memorandum  referring  to 
"Gog"  and  "Magog,"  instead  of  being  written  out  in  full  as  "Gog, 
king  of  the  land  of  Magog."  It  is  a  true  parallel,  however,  from 
the  Jewish  mythology,  and  indicates  that  whoever  wrote  it  under- 
stood to  some  extent  the  esoteric  meaning  of  the  Apocalypse  and 
also  the  inner  sense  of  the  Old  Testament  myths.  In  fact,  no  real 
esotericist  could  possibly  fail  to  perceive  the  general  meaning  of  the 
Apocalyptic  allegory;  and  the  solution  of  its  peculiar  puzzles  calls 
only  for  the  exercise  of  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  any  one  "who  has 
the  Nous."  But  through  the  ages  the  esotericists  have  merely  smiled 
and  remained  silent  while  the  exoteric  "Fathers  of  the  Church"  and 
their  worthy  successors  have  tortured  this  magnificent  epic  into  a 
theological  nightmare;  for  if  the  "orthodox"  had  discovered  its  real 
nature,  the  Apocalypse  would  unquestionably  have  shared  the  fate 
of  the  learned  Porphyry's  treatise  on  Christianity,  which  was  burned 
by  decree  of  the  Roman  Emperor. 

The  Summing  Up  of  the  Cycle  of  Incarnations 

Ch.  XX.  11-15 

II  I  saw  a  great  white  throne  and  [the  God]  seated  on  it,  from 
whose  face  fled  the  earth  and  the  sky— and  a  place  was  not  found 
for  them.  12  I  saw^  the  dead,  the  old  and  the  young,  standing  be- 
fore the  throne ;  and  [their]  scrolls  were  unrolled.  Another  scroll 
w^as  unrolled,  which  is  [the  Ram's  scroll]  of  life.  The  dead  were 
judged  from  the  [records]  written  in  [their]  scrolls,  according  to 
their  works.  13  The  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it,  and 
Death  and  the  Unseen  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them;  and 
they  were  judged,  each  and  all,  according  to  their  works.  14  Death 
and  the  Unseen  were  thrown  into  the  lake  of  fire.    This  is  the  second 


392  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

death — the  lake  of  fire.     15  If  any  one  was  not  found  registered  in 
the  [Ram's]  scroll  of  life,  he  was  thrown  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  action  of  the  drama  is  again  resumed.  The  initiate  has 
severed  himself  from  the  lower  life,  and  by  thus  renouncing  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  generated  form  of  existence  he  is  morally 
and  dynamically  in  the  same  condition  as  is  the  disincarnated  man, 
so  that  his  past  must  be  adjudicated  in  the  same  way.  But,  whereas, 
the  after-death  judgment  of  the  uninitiated  soul  involves  only  its 
last  preceding  earth-life,  the  Conqueror  must  render  an  account  of 
all  his  past  incarnations :  the  records  in  their  scrolls  are  reviewed, 
and  then  all  are  summed  up  in  the  Ram's  great  scroll  of  life— the 
comprehensive  record  of  the  incarnating  Self.  All  his  deeds  in  the 
great  sea  of  sensuous  life,  all  the  things  that  he  ever  did  in  the 
physical  and  psychic  worlds,  spring  to  life  in  the  Eternal  Memory, 
and  all  are  passed  upon  by  the  inexorable  Judge,  and  whatever  ele- 
ment in  the  man's  aeon-evolved  character  that  may  be  found  un- 
worthy of  life  eternal  is  hurled  into  the  consuming  fire  of  the  chaos, 
there  to  disintegrate  in  the  second  death.  In  this  there  is  no  shadow 
of  that  exoteric  and  profane  notion,  the  "vicarious  atonement." 
According  to  the  philosophy  of  loannes,  Seer  and  Initiate,  rigid 
justice  rules  all  worlds. 

VII 
THE  ETERNAL  VESTURE  OF  THE  SELF 

The  Divine  Embodiment — the  "New  Universe" 

Chapter  xxi.  1-5 

I  I  saw  a  new  sky  and  a  new  earth— for  the  first  sky  and  the 
first  earth  have  passed  away,  and  the  sea  is  not  any  more.  2  I  saw 
the  holy  city.  New  Hierousalem,  coming  down  out  of  the  sky — from 
the  God — made  ready  as  a  bride  bedecked  for  her  husband.  3  I 
heard  a  great  voice  from  the  throne,  saying : 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  393 

"Behold!  the  tent-temple  of  the  God  is  with  men,  and  he  shall 
encamp  with  them.  They  shall  be  his  people  and  the  God  himself 
shall  be  with  thtm— their  God.  4  He  shall  wipe  away  every  tear 
from  their  eyes;  and  there  shall  not  be  death  any  more,  nor  shall 
there  be  mourning,  lamentation  or  pain  any  more.  For  the  material 
elements  have  passed  away." 

5  Said  the  [Master]  seated  on  the  throne: 
"Behold!    I  am  making  a  new  universe." 
And  to  me  he  says : 

"Write :  These  arcane  doctrines  are  believable  and  true." 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  prelude  to  the  first  act  of  the  drama  (iv.  11)  the  Powers 
chant  a  paean  to  the  God  who  brought  into  existence  the  universe; 
but  now  that  microcosmic  "universe,"  the  lower  self  which  had  been 
evolved  during  the  generative  aeons,  has  fulfilled  its  purpose,  and  is 
superseded  by  a  new  Universe,  a  new  cycle  of  spiritual  evolution 
transcendent  in  glory. 

Ch.  XXI.  6-8 

6  And  [again]  he  said  to  me : 

"He  has  been  horn,  [but]  /  am  the  Alpha  and  the  O,  the  Origin 
and  the  Perfection.  To  him  who  thirsts  /  shall  give  of  the  spring 
of  the  water  of  life  as  a  free  gift.  7  The  Conqueror  shall  obtain 
the  universe,  and  I  will  be  a  God  to  him,  and  he  shall  be  a  son  to  me. 
8  But,  for  the  cowardly,  the  unbelieving,  the  malodorous,  murder- 
ers, fornicators,  sorcerers,  worshippers  of  phantoms,  and  all  liars, 
their  part  [shall  be]  in  the  lake  which  flames  with  fire  and  sulphur 
— which  is  the  second  death." 

COMMENTARY 

The  First  Logos,  the  enthroned  God,  who  is  the  source  of  life 
and  its  ultimate  goal,  is  ne\-er  incarnated ;  the  Second  Logos  is  the 
incarnating  Self;  and  the  man  as  he  is  on  earth  is  the  Third  Logos, 
who,  if  he  conquers  and  achieves  the  second  birth,  becomes  the  son 
of  the  God.    Yet  the  three  are  in  reality  one,  the  Divine  Man  mani- 


394  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

fested  on  three  planes  of  life.  Nevertheless,  if  the  carnal  man  be- 
comes irredeemably  wicked,  his  fate  is  the  second  death,  the  reverse 
of  the  second  birth :  his  psychic  self  decomposes  in  the  fiery  subtile 
elements,  even  as  the  physical  body  is  resolved  into  its  original  ele- 
ments when  abandoned  by  the  animating  principle.  The  second 
death  means  the  obliteration  of  the  personal  consciousness ;  the  sec- 
ond birth  leads  to  the  attuning  of  the  individual  consciousness  with 
that  which  is  universal  and  divine. 

A  variant  reading  in  the  text  has  "I  have  been  born,"  but  the 
gegone  of  the  received  text  is  preferable.  The  revisers  have  adopted 
the  extraordinary  reading  gegonan,  from  which  they  extract  the 
almost  meaningless  statement,  "They  are  come  to  pass." 

The  Twelve-Gate  City  of  the  Sun-God— the  Solar  Body 
Ch.  XXI.  9-14 

9  Came  one  of  the  seven  Divinities  who  had  the  seven  libation- 
saucers,  who  were  charged  with  the  seven  last  retributions,  and  he 
talked  with  me,  saying : 

"Hither !    I  shall  show  you  the  bride — the  Ram's  wife." 

10  He  carried  me  away  in  the  Breath  [-trance]  to  a  mountain 
great  and  high,  and  showed  me  the  holy  city  Hierousalem,  coming 
down  out  of  the  sky  from  the  God,  1 1  having  the  God's  glory— 
[and  this],  her  luminary,  was  like  a  very  precious  stone,  like  an 
opal  crystal-glittering — 12  having  a  wall  great  and  high;  having 
twelve  gateways,  and  at  the  gateways  twelve  Divinities,  and  [on 
the  gateways]  names  inscribed,  wdiich  are  [the  names]  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel:  13  on  the  east  were  three  gate- 
ways, on  the  north  three  gateways,  on  the  south  three  gateways, 
and  on  the  west  three  gateways.  14  The  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve 
foundations,  and  on  them  [were  inscribed]  the  twelve  names  of 
the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Ram. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Divinity  here  is  Hermes,  the  guide  and  hierophant.  His 
caduceus  (with  which  he  measures  the  city)  symbolizes  the  three 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  395 

currents  of  the  kiindalini,  the  central  rod  (the  "hollow  reed"  of  the 
Apocalypse)  being  the  sushumnd  nadi,  and  the  two  serpents  tda  and 
pingala,  or  "the  two  witnesses." 

The  mountains  of  the  Apocalypse  are  the  chakras  and  the  states 
of  consciousness  to  which  they  correspond;  the  symbolism  is  almost 
universal,  and  many  were  the  ancient  cities  having  their  seven  sacred 
mountains  or  hills.  The  Book  of  Enoch  describes  seven  mountains, 
each  of  which  was  composed  of  one  of  the  seven  metals  ascribed  to 
the  planets.  These  are  :  Saturn,  lead ;  Jupiter,  tin  ;  Mars,  iron ;  Sun, 
gold ;  Venus,  copper ;  Mercury,  quicksilver ;  and  Moon,  silver.  But 
the  lofty  mountain  of  the  text  is  reminiscent  of  Olympos,  on  the 
twelve  peaks  of  which  were  throned  the  six  Gods  and  six  Goddesses 
who  were  also  Guardians  of  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac. 

The  iaspis  is  thought  by  some  authorities  to  have  been  the  dia- 
mond or  the  opal,  and  the  latter  supposition  is  doubtless  correct,  as 
the  self-luminous  aura,  the  glory,  basically  white,  but  coruscating 
with  all  the  seven  colors,  resembles  a  brilliant  opal.  The  aura  (the 
wall  of  the  city)  has  twelve  force-centres,  where  the  twelve  cosmic 
forces  (the  apostles  of  the  Ram,  or  Sun)  are  focussed  upon  the 
microcosm,  and  these  focal  centres  are  dynamically  related  to  the 
twelve  orifices  of  the  body — the  twelve  gateways  of  the  city,  corre- 
sponding to  the  twelve  tribes.  Thus,  quite  literally,  even  on  the 
plane  of  forces,  the  Conqueror  obtains  the  Universe.  As  said  in 
the  Aitarcya-Aronyaka,  "These  life-forces  (prdtias)  are  verily 
twelvefold,  seven  in  the  head,  two  in  the  breast,  and  three  below." 
But  in  the  Apocalyptic  city  the  force-centres  are  arranged  according 
to  the  zodiacal  scheme. 

Ch.  XXI.  15-21 

15  The  [Divinity]  who  was  talking  with  me  had  for  a  measure 
a  golden  reed,  to  measure  the  city,  its  gateways  and  its  wall.  16 
The  city  lies  foursquare,  and  its  length  is  as  great  as  its  width.  He 
measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  by  stadia,  twelve  thousand;  its 
length,  width  and  height  are  equal.  17  And  he  measured  its  wall, 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  cubits,  [including]  the  measure  of  a 
man,  that  is,  of  a  Divinity.     18  The  building-material  of  its  wall 


396  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

was  opal,  and  the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  clear  glass.  19  The  foun- 
dations of  the  wall  of  the  city  were  ornamented  with  every  precious 
stone :  the  first  foundation  was  opal ;  the  second,  lapis-lazuli ;  the 
third,  chalcedony;  the  fourth,  emerald;  20  the  fifth,  sardonyx; 
the  sixth,  carnelian ;  the  seventh,  chrysolite ;  the  eighth,  beryl ;  the 
ninth,  topaz ;  the  tenth,  chrysoprase ;  the  eleventh,  sapphire ;  and  the 
twelfth,  amethyst.  21  The  twelve  gateways  were  twelve  pearls: 
each  one  of  the  several  gateways  was  [carved]  from  a  single  pearl. 

COMMENTARY 

As  already  explained,  the  cubical  city,  when  unfolded,  becomes  a 
cross,  symbolizing  the  human  form.  It  is  the  solar  body,  to  hcliakon 
soma,  the  numerical  value  of  the  words  being  1,600,  the  number  of 
Jewish  miles  in  12,000  stadia.  The  Roman  mile  of  about  eight 
stadia,  it  should  be  noted,  was  never  used  by  the  Jews,  who  counted 
seven  and  a  half  stadia  to  the  mile.  The  aura,  he  doxa,  gives  the 
number  143,  to  which  is  added  an  alpha,  i,  that  being  the  vowel  and 
number  of  the  primeval  man,  or  Divinity. 

The  aura  is  a  brilliant  opalescence,  self-luminous,  and  the  solar 
body  has  the  appearance  of  transparent  gold. 

The  twelve  precious  stones  are  not  all  identified  with  certainty, 
as  some  of  the  Greek  names  are  dubious ;  but,  employing  the  modern 
terms  generally  applied  to  them,  they  are  probably  as  given  above. 
Taking  Aries  as  the  first  sign  of  the  zodiac,  the  gems,  with  their 
colors,  fit  in  as  follows:  Region  of  the  Sky:  ii.  Gemini,  sapphire, 
azure;  12.  Taurus,  amethyst,  violet;  i.  Aries,  opal,  many-colored. 
Region  of  the  Sea:  2.  Pisces,  lapis-lazuli,  rich  blue;  3.  Aquarius, 
chalcedony,  blue-gray ;  4.  Capricornus,  emerald,  bluish-green.  Re- 
gion of  the  Earth:  5.  Sagittarius,  sardonyx,  red;  6.  Scorpio, 
carnelian,  bright  red ;  7.  Libra,  chrysolite,  yellowish-green.  Region 
of  the  Fire:  8.  Virgo,  beryl,  yellow;  9.  Leo,  topaz,  golden;  10. 
Cancer,  chrysoprase,  greenish-golden.  Here,  as  always  in  the 
Apocalypse,  the  signs  are  given  in  reversed  order.  From  the  most 
ancient  times  occult  virtues  have  been  attributed  to  precious  stones, 
each  gem  being  said  to  be  under  the  influence  of  a  planet  and  to 
belong  to  one  of  the  zodiacal  signs. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  397 

Ch.  XXI.  21-27 

21  The  main-street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  transparent  as 
glass.  22  No  adytum  did  I  see  in  it;  for  the  Master-God,  the  All- 
Dominator,  and  the  Lamb  are  its  adytum.  23  The  city  has  no  need 
of  the  sun,  nor  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it ;  for  the  God's  glory  lights 
it  up ;  and  its  lamp  is  the  Ram,  24  and  the  people  shall  walk  in  its 
light;  and  the  rulers  of  the  earth  keep  bringing  their  glory  into  it. 
25  Its  gateways  shall  not  at  all  be  closed  by  day — for  there  shall 
be  no  night  there.  26  [The  rulers  of  the  earth]  shall  bring  the 
glory  and  the  honor  of  the  people  into  it;  27  and  there  shall  not 
at  all  enter  into  it  anything  profane,  or  he  who  creates  a  stench  and 
[acts]  a  lie,  but  only  those  who  are  registered  in  the  Ram's  scroll 
of  life. 

COMMENTARY 

The  broad  street,  or  highway,  of  the  solar  forces,  "the  rulers 
from  the  Sun's  place  of  birth,"  corresponds  to  the  spinal  cord  of  the 
physical  body.  But  the  complex  structure  of  the  gross  form,  with 
the  numerous  organs  and  functions  made  necessary  by  material  con- 
ditions, is  not  duplicated  in  the  spiritual  body,  which  is  formed  of 
etheric  fire,  and  is  in  direct  relation  with,  and  is  sustained  by,  the 
cosmic  and  divine  forces. 

That  the  Divine  Self  is  the  sole  luminary  of  the  spiritual  world 
is  repeatedly  stated  in  the  Upanisliads,  as  in  Katha  Upanishad,  i.  v. 
15  :  "The  sun  does  not  shine  there,  nor  the  moon  and  the  stars,  nor 
these  lightnings,  and  much  less  this  fire.  When  he  shines,  every- 
thing shines  after  him;  by  his  light  all  this  is  lighted." 

Chapter  xxii.  1-5 

I  He  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
flowing  out  of  the  throne  of  the  God  and  of  the  Ram,  2  in  the 
middle  of  its  main-street;  and  on  one  side  of  the  river  [was  the  tree 
of  knowledge],  and  on  the  other  was  the  tree  of  life,  producing 
twelve  fruits  according  to  the  months,  each  one  yielding  its  fruit ; 
and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  people;    3 


398  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

and  the  accursed  [function]  shall  not  exist  any  more.  The  throne 
of  the  God  and  of  the  Ram  shall  be  in  it,  and  his  slaves  will  serve 
him;  4  they  will  see  his  face,  and  his  name  [will  be]  on  their  fore- 
heads. 5  There  will  be  no  night  there ;  and  they  will  have  no  need 
of  lamp  or  light  of  the  sun  :  for  the  Master-God  will  give  them  light, 
and  they  will  rule  throughout  the  aeons  of  the  aeons. 

COMMENTARY 

The  river  of  life  and  the  two  trees  correspond  to  the  three  nddis; 
but,  whereas  in  the  physical  body  the  triple  current  ascends  to  the 
brain  from  below,  from  the  generative  centres,  in  the  solar  body  the 
"accursed"  function,  sex,  does  not  exist,  and  the  forces  come  from 
above,  from  the  brain-region.  In  the  inverted  Logos,  the  "son  of 
man,"  the  creative  centres  are  the  lowest ;  in  the  Conqueror,  who  has 
become  the  "Son  of  the  God,"  they  are  the  highest.  The  Arche- 
Logos  is  the  "Witness"  and  has  his  "two  witnesses,"  the  three  con- 
stituting the  creative  triad ;  therefore  he  has  his  name  written  on  his 
thigh.  This  is  the  secret  meaning  of  the  Kabbalistic  maxim.  Demon 
est  Dens  inversus.  The  generative  function  is  strictly  nothing  but 
an  animal  one,  and  can  never  be  anything  else.  True  spirituality 
demands  its  utter  extirpation ;  and  while  its  proper  exercise  for  the 
continuation  of  the  human  race,  in  the  semi-animal  stage  of  its 
evolution,  may  not  be  considered  sinful,  its  misuse  in  any  way  is 
fraught  with  the  most  terrible  consequences  physically,  psychically 
and  spiritually ;  and  the  forces  connected  with  it  are  used  for  abnor- 
mal purposes  only  in  the  foulest  practices  of  sorcery,  the  inevitable 
result  of  which  is  moral  death — the  annihilation  of  the  individuality. 
The  only  true  creative  function  is  that  of  the  Nous,  the  godlike 
faculty  of  formative  Thought. 

Conclusion 

Ch.  XXII.  6-9 

6  He  said  to  me : 

"These  arcane  doctrines  are  believable  and  true.  The  Master- 
God  of  the  'Breaths'  of  the  seers  sent  his  Divinity  to  make  known 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  399 

to  his  slaves  the  [perfections]  which  must  be  attained  speedily.  7 
Behold !  I  am  coming  speedily.  Immortal  is  he  who  observes  the 
arcane  doctrines  of  the  teaching  of  this  scroll." 

8  I,  loannes,  am  he  who  was  seeing  and  hearing  these  [mys- 
teries] ;  and  when  I  heard  and  saw,  I  fell  down  to  worship  before 
the  feet  of  the  Divinity  who  was  making  known  these  [mysteries] 
to  me.    9  And  he  says  to  me : 

"See  to  it  [that  you  do]  not.  I  am  a  fellow-slaz'c  with  you  and 
with  your  brothers,  the  seers,  and  those  who  observe  the  arcane  doc- 
trines of  the  teachings  of  this  scroll.     Worship  the  God!" 

COMMENTARY 

The  Breaths  (pneumata)  of  the  seers  are  the  differentiated  forces 
of  the  Pneuma,  or  Great  Breath  of  Life,  used  by  the  seers  in  the 
telestic  work,  and  are  not  the  "spirits"  of  ancient  worthies.  The 
Arch-Divinity  of  these  creative  forces  is  the  Nous. 

Nothing  should  be  worshipped  that  has  form  or  is  individuated. 
The  universal  Divine  Life  is  alone  to  be  worshipped.  There  is  no 
colorless  pantheism  in  tliis  concept ;  for  the  God  of  each  man  is  one 
with  the  universal  God :  the  Conqueror  obtains  the  Universe,  not  by 
being  absorbed  and  obliterated  by  it,  but  by  transcending  the  limi- 
tations of  his  individual  consciousness  and  partaking  of  the  uni- 
versal Divine  Consciousness.  As  an  individual  he  loses  nothing 
but  his  imperfections,  but  he  gains  the  All,  the  "Origin  and  the 
Perfection."  And  this  is  Seership,  which  is  not  "prophecy,"  "sec- 
ond sight,"  or  sense-perception  on  any  plane  of  consciousness,  but 
is  Direct  Cognition  of  Reality. 

Ch.  XXII.  10-16 

10  And  [again]  he  says  to  me: 

"Do  not  seal  up  the  arcane  doctrines  of  the  teachings  of  this 
scroll;  for  the  season  is  near.  11  The  unjust,  let  him  do  injustice 
yet  more ;  the  sordid,  let  him  be  made  yet  more  sordid ;  the  just,  let 
him  do  justice  yet  more ;  and  the  devotee,  let  him  be  made  yet  more 
devoted.  12  Behold  !  I  am  coming  speedily,  and  my  wages  are  with 
me,  to  pay  off  each  [laborer]  as  his  work  is.    13  I  am  the  Alpha  and 


400  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  O,  the  First  [Adam]  and  the  Last  [Adam],  the  Origin  and  the 
Perfection.  14  Immortal  are  those  who  are  washing-  their  robes 
so  that  they  may  have  authority  over  the  tree  of  hfe  and  may  enter 
by  the  gateways  into  the  city.  15  Outside  are  the  dogs,  the  sor- 
cerers, the  fornicators,  the  murderers,  the  phantom-servers,  and 
every  one  who  keeps  sanctioning  and  acting  a  He.  16  /,  lesous, 
have  sent  my  Divinity  to  give  evidence  to  you  of  these  [works  de- 
pending] upon  the  Societies.  /  am  the  Root  and  the  Offspring  of 
David,  his  bright  and  Morning  Star." 

COMMENTARY 

The  injunction  not  to  seal  up  the  teachings  has  been  followed  by 
the  Apocalyptist ;  for  although  his  scroll  is  written  in  veiled  lan- 
guage it  is  not  "sealed"  as  in  the  case  of  a  strictly  occult  book,  which 
is  written  either  in  cipher  or  secret  language,  and  can  not  be  read 
without  a  key.  IMystical  works  intended  for  general  circulation  are 
usually  w^orded  obscurely,  being  designed  to  elicit  and  cultivate  the 
intuitive  faculty  of  the  reader;  and  they  are,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, disconnected,  fragmentary,  and  often  interspersed  with  irrele- 
vant passages.  But  the  Apocalypse  contains  its  own  key,  and  is 
complete  in  itself,  coherent,  and  scrupulously  accurate  in  every  de- 
tail. The  puzzles  it  contains  are  not  intended  to  mislead  or  confuse ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  serve  to  verify  the  correct  interpretation  of 
the  allegory.  The  book  is  not  sealed  to  any  one  who  has  the  devel- 
oped intuitive  faculty,  and  for  whom,  therefore,  the  season,  the 
springtime  of  noetic  unfoldment,  is  near. 

Though  the  growth  of  the  inner  nature  is  a  slow  process  during 
many  incarnations,  the  recognition  of  the  actuality  of  the  soul,  of 
the  immanent  higher  mind,  comes  upon  the  man  suddenly;  as 
loannes  reiterates,  the  Logos  comes  speedily,  unexpectedly,  as  a 
thief  in  the  night;  and  when  it  does  come  there  is  a  balancing  of 
merits  and  demerits.  If  his  nature  is  sufficiently  purified,  the  mystic 
tree  of  life  (the  spcircma)  is  his,  and  by  means  of  it  he  enters  the 
holy  city;  otherwise  he  remains  with  "those  without,"  the  exoteri- 
cists,  until  he  shall  have  "washed  his  robes"  and  thereby  gained  the 
right  to  employ  the  "Breaths  of  the  seers." 


THE  INITIATION  OF  lOANNES  401 

Those  who  keep  fondly  acting  a  he  are  the  formal  religionists 
and  exoteric  ritualists  who  cling  to  and  defend  irrational  dogmas 
and  superstitions. 

The  Divinity  speaking  to  loannes  is  one  of  the  septenary  group 
who  poured  out  the  libations  in  the  final  ordeals ;  he  forbids  the  seer 
to  worship  him,  declaring  himself  to  be  but  a  fellow-servitor;  then 
he  announces  himself  as  both  the  First  and  the  Second  Logos;  and 
lastly  he  calls  himself  lesous,  the  incarnating  Self  of  David.  The 
Initiate  has  thus  "gathered  himself  together,"  unifying  his  whole 
nature,  and  correlating  his  consciousness  in  the  four  worlds. 

Ch.  XXII.  17-21 

17  Both  the  Breath  and  the  Bride  are  saying,  "Come!"  Let  him 
who  hears  say,  "Come!"  Let  him  who  is  athirst  come;  and  let  him 
who  is  willing  receive  the  water  of  life  as  a  free  gift. 

18  I  am  witness  to  every  one  who  hears  the  arcane  doctrines  of 
the  teaching  of  this  scroll.  If  any  one  shall  add  [forgeries]  to 
them,  the  God  will  add  to  him  the  retributions  which  are  written 
in  this  scroll;  19  and  if  any  one  shall  take  away  [any  portion] 
from  the  arcane  doctrines  of  the  scroll  of  this  teaching,  the  God 
will  take  away  his  portion  from  the  tree  of  life  and  from  the  holy 
city,  [even  from]  the  [initiations]  which  are  described  in  this  scroll. 

20  He  who  gives  evidence  of  these  [arcane  doctrines]  says : 
"Verily,  I  am  coming  speedily." 

Amen.    Come,  Master  lesous! 

21  The  Grace  of  the  Master  lesous  be  with  the  devotees.    Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  days  when  books  could  be  published  only  in  the  form  of 
manuscripts  it  was  comparatively  easy  for  unscrupulous  persons  to 
alter  them  to  suit  their  own  views  by  expunging  words  and  passages 
and  by  interpolating  forgeries.  Religious  sectarians  were  particu- 
larly addicted  to  this  form  of  literary  vandalism,  as  is  clearly  evi- 
dent from  the  mutilated  text  of  the  Neiv  Testament.  The  state- 
ment that  terrible  consequences  would  result  to  any  one  tampering 
with  the  text  of  this  scroll  of  loannes  has  doubtless  stayed  the  hand 


402  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  many  a  superstitious  bigot,  and  has  operated  to  preserve  it  intact ; 
but  the  warning-  is  more  than  a  mere  idle  threat,  for  the  man  who 
would  maliciously  mutilate  this  manual  written  for  the  spiritual 
guidance  of  the  "little  children"  of  the  Logos  would  find  a  grave 
indictment  charged  against  him  when  he  came  to  be  "judged  accord- 
ing to  his  works."  That  the  text  has  been  preserved  with  remarka- 
ble purity  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  puzzles  it  contains  have  not 
been  touched,  though  even  slight  changes  by  a  meddlesome  "redac- 
tor" might  have  ruined  them. 

Even  as  the  Light  of  the  Logos  keeps  saying  to  mankind,  "Come," 
so  the  learner,  he  who  hears  that  summons,  should  repeat  the  call, 
tendering  as  a  free  gift  the  water  of  life  to  all  who  thirst  for  it 
and  are  willing  to  receive  it.  But  woe  to  those  who  by  attempting 
to  trade  in  the  things  of  the  spirit  have  lost  the  key  of  the  Gndsis, 
leaving  themselves  locked  out  and  hindering  those  who  were  ready 
to  enter ! 

Now,  the  Master  lesous  is  the  Spiritual  Mind  of  man,  which  alone 
can  give  absolute  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  Life  Eternal;  and  he 
indeed  comes  swiftly  to  those  who  make  themselves  pure  and  be- 
come worthy  to  utter  the  word  of  power— the  Amen. 


INITIATION 

AS  RECORDED  IN  THE  SACRED  ZODIACAL  LANGUAGE  BY  A  SEER 
(.4  Metrical  Version  of  the  Apocalypse) 

Subtitle  and  Dedication 

The  true  initiation  of  the  soul,  I.  i 

Revealed,  yet  hidden,  in  this  mystic  scroll, 

The  great  All-Father,  gracious  Lord  of  Light, 

Bestowed  upon  the  worthy  neophyte 

To  show  to  all  on  whom  his  rays  are  shed  5 

The  path  that  only  winged  feet  may  tread : 

The  Mind-born  Self  he  sent  from  heavenly  heights. 

And  through  that  Self  frlie  pure  perfective  rites 

Revealed  in  symbols  to  the  raptured  Seer 

Whose  visions  faithfully  are  pictured  here,  2  10 

In  witness  of  the  sceptred  Lord  of  Thought 

And  all  the  sacred  mysteries  which  he  taught. 

Immortal  he  who  reads  with  inner  sight,  3 

And  they  who  hear  his  guarded  words  aright. 

Obeying  all  the  precepts  writ  herein  :  15 

For  them  the  soul's  glad  Springtime  shall  begin. 

L     INTRODUCTION 
The  Address  to  the  Seven  Planetary  Hierarchies 

The  Seer  this  message  sends,  to  reprimand  4 

The  seven  Lodges  in  his  native  land : 

Greeting  and  peace,  from  the  eternal  King, 

The  seven  Gods  that  e'er  his  throne  enring,  20 

And  from  the  Self  anointed  by  his  rays,  5 

The  faithful  witness  of  the  starry  ways, 


404  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  first  to  live  anew  in  second  birth, 

And  Master  of  the  myriad  powers  of  earth. 

To  him  who  bade  us  in  his  home  abide,  25 

And  with  the  ichor  of  the  Crucified 

Washed  us  from  sins,  and  did  a  realm  ordain  6 

Wherein  we  serve  at  the  All-Father's  fane — 

To  him,  Sun-Regent  of  the  starry  dome. 

Ever  be  glory  and  dominion!     Oui.  30 

Behold,  he  comes,  in  shining  aether  veiled,  7 

Seen  by  all  e3^es,  and  seen  by  them  who  nailed 

His  limbs  upon  the  cross ;  all  they,  whose  home 

Is  dismal  earth,  o'er  him  shall  sorrow.    Om. 

"In  me  the  seven  sounding  vowels  merge,"  8  35 

Saith  the  Supreme,  to  whom  all  things  converge, 

The  Lord  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come. 

Sire  of  the  Gods,  and  of  all  worlds  the  sum. 

The  Sevenfold  Sun-God 

Now,  I  your  brother — I  who  w'ith  you  share  9 

Initiation's  ordeal,  striving  e'er  40 

To  conquer  self  and  wait  with  patience  fine 

The  coming  of  the  deathless  Self  divine — 

Dwelt  on  a  lonely  island,  for  I  fain 

Would  wisdom  master,  and  the  Self  attain. 

In  sacred  trance  w-as  I,  upon  the  day  10  45 

That  owns  the  golden  Sun's  benignant  sway. 

I  heard  a  voice  behind  me :  loud  and  clear 

As  trumpet-call  these  words  rang  in  mine  ear : 

"When  in  a  scroll  thy  visions  thou  hast  penned,  II 

The  message  to  the  seven  Lodges  send —  50 

The  Lodges  that  for  several  titles  own 

The  seven  colors  in  the  rainbow  shown." 

And  when  I  turned,  the  speaker  to  behold,  12 

I  saw,  midst  seven  lampstands  all  of  gold, 

A  shining  form  wherein  a  Seer  might  scan  13  55 

The  starry  glories  of  the  Heavenly  Man, 


INITIATION  405 

A  likeness  of  the  Self  in  whom  unite 

The  seven  aspects  of  the  Lord  of  Light : 

Down  to  the  feet  a  clinging  garment  flowed, 

And  round  the  breasts  a  golden  girdle  showed ;  60 

Whiter  than  snow  his  fleecy  locks  outstreamed;  14 

His  piercing  eyes  with  fire  celestial  gleamed ; 

Like  liquid  silver  were  his  shining  feet,  15 

Silver  that  flows,  yet  not  from  furnace-heat ; 

His  voice  intoned  the  solemn  mystery  65 

Of  sounding  billows  on  the  surging  sea  ; 

In  his  right  hand  seven  brilliant  stars  he  held ;  16 

And  from  his  mouth,  like  fiery  breath  expelled, 

A  sword,  two-edged  and  keen,  went  forth  amain ; 

And  like  the  sun  that  lights  the  heavenly  plain,  70 

Refulgent  with  a  glory  all  its  own, 

His  beauteous  face  with  light  inherent  shone. 

Prone  at  his  feet  I  fell,  as  I  were  dead.  17 

On  me  he  laid  his  strong  right  hand,  and  said : 

"Be  fearless,  and  behold  me :  I  am  Man  75 

As  he  was  fashioned  ere  the  world  began. 

And  I  am  Man  whose  eager  feet  have  trod 

The  straitened  path  that  finds  the  realm  of  God. 

Yea,  I  am  Man  immortal ;  yet  I  died,  18 

In  mortal  form  for  ages  crucified.  80 

Lo,  I  have  risen :  through  the  gate  of  gold 

Have  passed  to  life  eternal;  and  I  hold 

The  keys  to  those  two  portals  set  between 

The  world  of  mortals  and  the  worlds  unseen. 

Write,  then,  the  visions  of  thy  supersight,  19  85 

Where  present,  past  and  future  reunite. 

The  mystery  of  the  seven  lamps  of  heaven —  20 

The  stars  I  held — and  of  the  lampstands  seven 

Is  this:  the  stars,  as  radiant  powers  of  mind. 

To  rule  the  seven  Lodges  are  designed ;  90 

The  seven  stands  the  seven  Lodges  are : 

Each  golden  stand  has  thus  its  lamp-like  star. 


4o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Kronos 

To  him  who  once  was  throned  in  heaven's  height,  II.  i 

Now  Regent  of  the  Yellow  Lodge,  thus  write: 

These  words  are  his  on  wdiose  right  hand  are  strung  95 

The  seven  stars,  who  stately  walks  among 

The  seven  golden  lampstands :  Well  I  know  2 

The  arduous  labors  that  you  undergo, 

Your  patient  waiting  that  defies  despair, 

And  that  faint-hearted  men  you  can  not  bear.  100 

And  those  who  falsely  claimed  to  come  from  me 

You  placed  on  trial,  and  proved  their  falsity. 

With  patience  you  endured  for  my  name's  sake,  3 

And  wearied  not.     But  this  complaint  I  make  4 

Against  you,  that  you  left  your  early  love.  105 

Remember,  therefore,  how  from  heaven  above  5 

You  fell  to  earth,  and  with  your  zeal  renewed 

Perform  the  first  great  works  of  sanctitude, 

Lest  I,  when  I  am  come,  award  disgrace. 

And  move  your  lampstand  from  its  wonted  place.  no 

But  this  great  virtue  is  in  you  innate,  6 

That  phallic  worshippers  you  justly  hate, 

Shunning  with  horror  and  disgust  all  them 

Whom  I  for  their  impurity  contemn. 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  7         115 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Conqueror  shall  hunger  nevermore : 

For  I  shall  give  him  power  perpetual  o'er 

The  Tree  of  Life,  whose  golden  fruitage  nods 

Transcendent  in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods.  120 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Zeus 

Thus  to  the  Regent  of  the  Blue  Lodge  write :  8 

Attend  the  words  of  him  who  from  the  night 
Of  dim  non-being  was  the  first  to  wake, 
And  first  the  iron  bonds  of  earth  to  break. 


INITIATION  407 

And  who  from  spheres  of  darkness  and  of  death  125 

Arose  to  life  eternal.    Thus  he  saith : 

I  know  your  works,  and  that,  brain-cribbed,  you  chafe        9 

When  Wisdom  to  your  questions  will  vouchsafe 

No  answer;  yet  if  she  your  plea  disdains. 

Your  wealth  of  useless  learning  still  remains!  130 

And  well  I  know  the  wretches  misbegot 

Who  claim  to  be  initiates — and  are  not, 

But  are  a  Lodge  of  Blackness  and  a  mart 

For  every  vile  and  deadly  secret  art. 

Fear  not  the  trials  you  must  soon  endure :  10         135 

Behold,  the  dread  Accuser  shall  immure 

Within  his  prison  walls  a  few  of  you, 

To  put  you  to  the  test,  and  you  shall  rue 

A  ten-days'  fast.     Your  faith  till  death  retain, 

And  you  the  crown  of  life  shall  surely  gain.  140 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  il 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Conqueror,  safe  in  that  mighty  Breath, 

Shall  ne'er  be  injured  by  the  second  death. 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Ares 

To  him  who  sternly  rules  with  martial  might,  12  145 

As  Regent  of  the  strong  Red  Lodge,  thus  write : 

These  words  are  his  who  has  forevermore 

The  sharp  two-edged  sword  of  magic  lore: 

I  know  your  valiant  deeds  and  where  you  dwell —  13 

The  Adversary's  throne  and  citadel.  150 

Undaunted  you  are  holding  fast  my  name. 

And  you  did  not  my  holy  faith  disclaim 

What  time  my  faithful  Witness,  who  was  skilled 

Erstwhile  the  future  to  foretell,  was  killed 

Among  you,  in  the  Lodge  where  hides  from  view  155 

The  lying  Adversary  of  the  True. 

And  yet  I  have  a  few  complaints  to  brmg  14 

Against  you :  some  among  your  number  cling 


4o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

To  evil  rites,  and  giving  way  to  hate 

With  curses  would  their  foes  annihilate,  i6o 

And,  seeking  sorcery's  fell  powers  to  win, 

Eat  demons'  food  and  practise  nameless  sin ; 

And  you  have  likewise  others  who  consult  15 

The  filthy  teaching  of  the  phallic  cult. 

Reform,  or  I  shall  come  to  you  with  speed  16  165 

And  with  my  magic  sword  confute  their  creed. 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  17 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Conqueror  I  shall  reward  with  food 

Ambrosial,  that  his  mind  may  be  imbued  170 

With  deathless  truth ;  and  unto  him,  mine  own, 

I  shall  present  a  precious  pearly  stone. 

And  on  the  stone  a  sacred  new  name  writ. 

Known  only  unto  him  receiving  it. 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Helios 

To  him  who  rules  among  the  powers  of  light,  18  175 

The  sunlike  Regent  of  the  Green  Lodge,  write : 

Thus  saith  the  Self-born,  whose  all-seeing  eyes 

Shine  with  the  golden  fire  that  glorifies 

The  solar  orb,  and  who  has  feet  that  glow 

Like  liquid  silver  pure  and  bright :  I  know  19  180 

Your  works,  and  your  devotion,  faithfulness, 

Your  drudgery,  and  patience  under  stress, 

And  that  your  final  deeds  shall  far  outshine 

The  first  ones,  when  you  rule  by  right  divine. 

Against  you,  though,  I  make  this  one  complaint,  20  185 

That  you  have  failed  to  place  in  due  restraint 

Your  wife,  that  wanton  witch,  who  falsely  claims 

To  be  a  seeress :  teaching,  she  inflames 

My  followers  with  lust,  and  they  partake 

Of  demon-food,  and  my  pure  feast  forsake.  190 

I  gave  her  time  from  evil  ways  to  turn ;  21 

But  she  prefers  with  lustful  fires  to  burn. 


INITIATION  409 

Behold,  this  vile  and  shameless  charlatan  22 

I  cast  upon  a  bed  procrustean, 

And  all  who  dally  with  her  doctrines  lewd,  195 

Unless  they  turn  again  to  rectitude, 

I  shall  condemn  to  weary  lives  on  earth. 

Bound,  like  Ixion,  to  the  wheel  of  birth. 

And  in  the  world  of  mortals  I  shall  kill  2i^ 

The  demon-brood  engendered  by  her  will.  200 

The  Lodges  all  shall  know  that  I  am  he 

Who  searches  loins  and  hearts,  to  oversee 

All  works  creative,  and  all  works  that  find 

Treasures  of  knowledge  in  the  cosmic  mind ; 

And  I  shall  give  to  each  his  rightful  share  205 

Of  knowledge,  weighing  all  his  works  with  care. 

But  this  I  say  to  you,  to  all  the  rest,  24 

Who  in  the  Green  Lodge  lag  in  learning's  quest — 

Who  have  not  sounded,  as  the  saying  goes, 

The  depths  of  mind — on  you  I  shall  impose  210 

No  other  load ;  yet  if  you  have  one  crumb  25 

Of  learning,  hold  it  fast  until  I  come. 

The  Conqueror,  and  he  who  watches  o'er  26 

My  rites  arcane  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Shall  have  authority,  by  me  conferred,  215 

To  rule  all  nations  :  o'er  the  human  herd,  2*7 

Who  now  are  being  crushed  like  things  of  clay, 

He  shall  with  golden  wand  hold  gentle  sway, 

Even  as  I  my  Father's  kingship  keep. 

And  am  the  loving  shepherd  of  my  sheep ;  220 

And  on  the  Conqueror  I  shall  bestow  28 

The  star  that  heralds  the  auroral  glow. 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  29 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Aphrodite 

And  to  the  Regent  vain  and  beauteous  HI.  i  225 

Who  feebly  rules  the  Dark-Blue  Lodge,  write  thus  : 


410  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

These  words  are  from  the  Self  in  whom  combine 

The  seven  sethers  and  their  stars  divine : 

I  know  your  works,  and  though  by  all  't  is  said 

That  you  are  living,  you  in  truth  are  dead.  230 

Awake  to  life  and  fervently  revive  2 

The  few  emotions  lingering  alive ; 

For  I  have  found,  of  all  your  works,  not  one 

That  has  before  my  God  been  fully  done — 

No  aspiration  realized,  no  thought  235 

Of  pure  devotion  but  has  led  to  naught. 

Remember  therefore  how  you  did  receive  3 

And  hear  this  message,  and  your  faults  retrieve. 

If,  then,  you  shall  not  faithful  vigil  keep, 

Lo,  I  shall  steal  upon  you  while  you  sleep,  240 

And  you,  in  slumber  lost,  shall  not  surmise 

What  hour  my  advent  will  your  sloth  surprise. 

And  yet  within  your  Dark-Blue  Lodge  remain  4 

A  few  who  kept  their  garments  free  from  stain. 

And  these  deserving  ones  shall  walk  with  me  245 

Arrayed  in  the  white  garb  of  purity. 

The  Conqueror  shall  thus  be  robed  in  white ;  5 

And  in  the  book  of  life  his  name  of  light 

I  shall  preserve  forever,  and  his  name 

Before  my  Father  and  the  Gods  proclaim.  250 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  6 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Hermes 

To  liim  who  holds  the  gold  caduceus,  "/ 

The  Regent  of  the  Orange  Lodge,  write  thus : 

These  words  are  his,  the  chaste  Reality,  255 

The  keeper  of  the  portal's  golden  key, 

Who  opens  Wisdom's  door,  and  none  can  close 

To  those  on  whom  his  welcome  he  bestows, 

And  closes  it  to  minds  unpurified. 

And  none  can  open  who  are  thus  denied :  260 


INITIATION  4" 

I  know  your  works  (behold,  I  oped  for  you  8 

The  door  which  none  can  ckose  or  veil  from  view). 

A  little  intuition  you  retain, 

And  you  have  guarded  well  my  lore  arcane, 

Nor  e'er  denied  my  name.     Behold,  of  those  9         265 

Who  are  the  Adversary's  and  compose 

The  Lodge  of  Darkness — who,  when  they  assert 

That  they  are  mystics,  holy  truths  pervert — 

A  few^  I  shall  reclaim,  and  shall  compel 

To  come  and  do  you  homage,  knowing  well  270 

That  you  are  my  beloved.    In  that  you  10 

Have  guarded  well  the  teaching,  known  to  few. 

Of  my  divine  delay,  so  at  the  hour, 

Soon  coming,  when  the  liberated  Power 

Throughout  the  trembling  earth  shall  manifest  275 

The  Self  all-glorious,  and  put  to  test 

The  dw^ellers  on  the  earth,  I  shall  protect 

And  safely  keep  you  as  mine  own  elect. 

On  winged  feet  I  come.     Hold  your  renown,  1 1 

That  none  may  wrest  from  you  your  golden  crown.  280 

The  Conqueror  I  gladly  shall  ordain  12 

To  be  a  pillar  in  my  God's  own  fane. 

And  nevermore,  to  birth  and  death  a  prey. 

Shall  he  go  forth  to  wear  the  form  of  clay; 

But  he  shall  w^ear  a  form  of  dazzling  light,  285 

Whereon  in  fadeless  letters  I  shall  write 

My  God's  own  name  ineffable,  the  name 

Of  that  supernal  city  he  can  claim 

For  his  abode  within  the  realm  divine. 

And  that  new'  name  which  in  the  heavens  is  mine.  290 

Hear,  ye  w^ho  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  13 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven. 

The  Message  to  the  Hierarchy  of  Selene 

And  to  the  Regent,  silvery  queen  of  night,  14 

Who  fondly  rules  the  Violet  Lodge,  thus  write : 


412  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Attend  the  message  of  the  Om,  the  Word  295 

Through  which  the  Truth  supernal  is  averred, 

The  source  of  Being,  and  the  vital  Breath 

Of  the  created  universe.    It  saith  : 

I  know  the  works  assigned  to  you  of  old,  15 

And  know  that  you  are  neither  hot  nor  cold,  300 

Not  fired  by  zeal,  nor  calm  with  tranquil  thought. 

Would  you  were  either  hot  or  cold,  and  not  16 

Lukewarm  and  nauseous,  so  that  now  I  fain 

Would  spew  you  from  my  mouth  in  fair  disdain  ! 

Because  you  say, 'I  have  amassed  a  store  17         305 

Of  wondrous  riches,  and  need  nothing  more,' 

And  know  not  that  of  all  the  powers  of  mind 

You  are  the  starveling,  piteous  and  blind, 

A  beggar,  ragged  near  to  nudity, 

I  therefore  counsel  you  to  buy  of  me  18         310 

Gold  pure  as  Wisdom,  tested  in  the  fire. 

That  you  may  thus  enduring  wealth  acquire, 

And  garments  white  as  Truth,  that  you  may  clothe 

Yourself  in  beauty,  not  in  rags  you  loathe, 

And  magic  salve  wherewith  your  eyes  to  smear,  315 

That  you  may  share  the  vision  of  the  Seer. 

All  whom  I  love  I  teach,  but  first  confute,  19 

Thus  from  their  minds  all  errors  to  uproot : 

For  truth  by  biased  minds  is  ne'er  divined ; 

Therefore  seek  wisdom,  but  first  cleanse  the  mind.  320 

Behold,  I  stand  before  the  door  and  knock :  20 

If  any  man  shall  hear  me,  and  unlock 

The  door  with  welcome,  I  his  guest  will  be. 

And  I  will  dine  with  him,  and  he  with  me. 

The  Conqueror  I  shall  a  place  assign  21         325 

With  me  upon  my  throne,  as  it  was  mine 

To  conquer,  and  to  make  the  realm  mine  own. 

Seated  beside  my  Father  on  his  throne. 

Hear,  ye  who  can,  the  words  the  Breath  of  Heaven  22 

Is  saying  to  the  mystic  Lodges  seven."  330 


INITIATION  413 

The  Enthroned  Sun-God  and  His  Powers 

The  vision  vanished ;  then  before  mine  eyes  IV.  i 

A  portal  opened  in  the  azure  skies. 

The  voice  of  him,  the  primal  Self,  I  heard, 

Which  like  a  trumpet-call  my  being  stirred : 

"Hither  ascend,  and  in  the  heavenly  fane  335 

Behold  the  glories  thou  must  yet  attain, 

The  holy  mysteries  which  the  Seer  enshrines 

In  mystic  symbols  and  in  starry  signs." 

Straightway  I  rose,  upborne  in  sacred  trance :  2 

Behold,  a  throne  was  placed  in  Heaven's  expanse ;  340 

And  seated  on  that  bright  celestial  throne  3 

The  Lord  of  Being,  all  effulgent,  shone. 

His  dazzling  form,  by  opal-colors  starred. 

Was  like  the  lustrous  and  flesh-tinted  sard. 

Wreathing  the  throne  an  iris-bow  revealed  345 

Its  banded  colors  on  an  emerald  field. 

And  in  a  circle  round  the  throne  disposed  4 

Were  twice  twelve  thrones,  and  on  them  were  disclosed 

The  four  and  twenty  Ancients,  robed  in  white, 

And  wearing  golden  crowns.    The  throne  was  bright  5         350 

\\'ith  dazzling  lightnings,  whence  the  solemn  sound 

Of  seven  voice ful  thunders  echoed  round. 

Before  the  throne  were  flaming  torches  seven. 

Which  are  the  seven  sethers  lit  in  heaven. 

And  which  before  the  throne  effulgent  shine,  6         355 

As  though  a  sea  of  essence  crystalline. 

Around  the  throne,  at  all  four  points  of  space, 

Four  Beings  stood,  in  each  appointed  place. 

The  first  of  these  symbolic  Beings  bore  7 

A  Lion's  likeness,  and  the  second  wore  360 

The  semblance  of  a  Bull ;  the  third  alone 

Had  human  face — the  Water-pourer's  own. 

The  fourth  was  seemingly  a  monstrous  thing, 

A  Scorpion  with  curving  claws  and  sting ; 


414  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  yet  a  fifth,  an  Eagle,  wings  outspread,  365 

Rose  from  the  throne  and  hovered  overhead. 

Six  wings  each  Being  had,  wherewith  to  trace  8 

The  six  directions  of  objective  space; 

Their  myriad  eyes  within  and  outward  gaze, 

And  day  and  night  this  psean  e'er  they  raise :  370 

"Thrice  holy  is  the  changeless  Self  sublime. 

The  God  of  Gods  and  Lord  of  triune  Time." 

And  ever  as  the  godlike  Beings  raise  9 

Their  hymn  of  glory,  reverence  and  praise 

To  the  Enthroned,  the  Solar  King  who  reigns  375 

O'er  all  the  ^ons,  and  in  all  domains. 

The  four  and  twenty  Ancients,  falling  down,  10 

Each  in  his  turn  and  casting  down  his  crown 

Before  the  throne,  shall  greet  the  Lord  of  Years 

With  choral  music  of  the  rolling  spheres:  380 

"O  thou,  our  Master-God,  in  essence  trine,  11 

May  glory,  power  and  reverence  be  thine : 

For  thou  didst  first  the  boundless  heavens  unroll. 

And  spread  abroad  the  universal  whole ; 

The  circling  spheres  that  chant  their  mystic  strains  385 

Thy  word  created,  and  thy  will  sustains." 


II.     THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  SUPERNAL  WATER 
The  Book  of  the  Psychic  Mysteries 

And  now  a  little  book  my  gaze  compelled —  V.  i 

In  his  right  hand  the  God  of  Being  held 

A  little  scroll,  a  cryptic  zodiac. 

Written  within,  and  also  at  the  back,  390 

And  sealed  with  seven  seals,  securely  framed. 

A  mighty  God  with  clarion  voice  proclaimed :  2 

"Who  worthy  is  to  take  the  scroll  of  thee, 

Open  its  seals,  and  solve  its  mystery  ?" 


INITIATION  415 

In  heaven,  on  earth,  or  in  the  realm  of  night  3         395 

Where  Plouton  reigns,  no  one  had  won  the  right 

To  ope  the  scroll,  or  even  to  behold 

That  m)^stic  scripture  of  the  Seers  of  old. 

And  much  I  wept,  that  all  were  found  unfit  4 

To  ope  the  scroll,  or  e'en  to  look  at  it,  400 

Leaving  the  scroll  unopened  and  unread. 

A  gracious  Ancient  turned  to  me  and  said :  5 

"Weep  not.    Behold,  the  lion-hearted  one. 

Who  draws  his  force  from  the  red-rising  sun, 

Has  conquered,  and  his  dauntless  soul  reveals  405 

The  strength  to  claim  the  scroll  and  ope  its  seals." 

Then  I  saw  standing  at  the  golden  throne  6 

Which  the  four  Beings  and  the  Ancients  zone 

A  Lamb,  as  one  in  sacrificial  guise. 

And  he  had  seven  horns,  and  seven  eyes —  410 

The  seven  solar  aethers  which  disperse 

Through  all  the  regions  of  the  universe. 

He  came,  and  he  has  taken  as  his  own  7 

The  scroll  from  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne. 

And  when  he  thus  the  scroll  his  own  had  made,  8         415 

The  Beings  and  the  Ancients  homage  paid 

To  the  victorious  Lamb.     Sweet  lyres  had  they, 

And  golden  bowls  with  incense  filled  alway ; 

Fragrant  lustrations  made  by  devotees — 

Their  aspirations  after  God — are  these.  420 

And  then  with  praise  the  radiant  heavens  rang,  9 

As  this  new  song  the  starry  regents  sang : 

"Worthy  art  thou  the  sacred  scroll  to  gain, 

And  open  all  its  seals ;  for  thou  wast  slain, 

And  wath  thy  blood  (the  pure  sethereal  stream  425 

Of  solar  gold)  didst  buy  for  the  Supreme 

The  worthy  ones  of  every  tribe  and  tongue. 

And  race  and  color,  since  the  world  was  young, 

And  mad'st  on  earth  for  them  a  realm  divine  10 

Whose  rulers  all  are  devotees  of  thine."  430 


4i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  all  the  radiant  Gods  in  heaven's  expanse,  1 1 

Moving  as  in  a  mighty  cosmic  dance, 

With  choral  music,  round  the  Powers  who  gird 

The  Sun-God's  throne,  entranced  I  saw  and  heard ; 

In  countless  thousands,  the  celestial  throng  435 

Poured  forth  the  chorus  of  the  praise ful  song:  12 

"Worthy  the  sacrificial  Lamb  to  gain 

The  seven  rewards  the  victor  must  attain— 

The  power,  the  wealth,  the  skill,  the  sturdy  frame. 

The  reverence,  the  glory  and  good  fame !"  440 

From  all  the  demigods  who  sanctify  13 

The  fourfold  elements  of  earth,  and  sky, 

And  sea,  and  Orcus — from  sweet-smelling  Earth, 

And  rushing  Air,  from  Water  that  takes  birth 

In  Ocean's  fount,  and  from  the  Fire  that  glows  445 

In  Nature's  heart — a  song  of  love  arose : 

"To  the  enthroned  Eternal,  the  Supreme, 

And  to  the  Lamb  in  whom  the  Sun-fires  gleam. 

Be  honor,  glory,  praise  and  sovereignty 

Through  ^ons  limitless  and  sorrow-free."  450 

"Om,"  said  the  sacred  Four;  and  falling  prone,  14 

The  Ancients  worshipped  at  the  dazzling  throne. 

The  Neophyte  Opens  the  Seven  Seals 

And  when  the  Lamb  one  seal  had  opened  wide,  VI.  i 

The  first  of  the  four  glorious  Beings  cried, 

In  tones  of  thunder,  "Come !"    Emerged  to  sight  2         455 

A  wondrous  horse,  in  color  snowy  white. 

Its  rider  had  a  bow ;  a  crown  with  rays 

Such  as  the  golden  sun  at  daM^n  displays 

Was  given  him,  and  forth  he  swiftly  went, 

A  conqueror,  on  valorous  deeds  intent,  460 

The  second  seal  he  opened ;  then  in  turn,  3 

"Come !"  cried  the  second  Being,  loud  and  stern. 

Another  horse  came  forth ;  't  was  flaming  red  :  4 

Its  rider,  God  of  War,  destruction  spread 


INITIATION  417 

O'er  all  the  earth  with  his  unpitying  sword,  465 

Till  Peace  took  flight,  and  blood  in  torrents  poured. 

The  third  seal  opened,  the  third  Being  cried,  5 

''Come!"  and  a  jet-black  horse  I  then  espied: 

Its  rider  held  a  balance  in  his  hand. 

The  soaring  Eagle — who  is  in  command  6         470 

Of  the  four  Beings — proclamation  made  : 

"A  day's  wage  for  a  quart  of  wheat  is  paid, 

Or  three  of  barley;  therefore  when  you  dine 

Portion  with  niggard  care  the  oil  and  wine!" 

The  fourth  seal  then  was  opened,  and  I  heard  7         475 

The  fourth  great  Being  cry  aloud  the  word, 

"Come !"  and  a  dun  horse,  savage  and  untamed,  8 

Sprang  fiercely  forth :  its  rider  "Death"  is  named — 

Ruling  the  world  of  men.    Behind  him  rode 

Grim  Plouton,  Regent  of  the  dark  abode.  480 

That  c^uarter  of  the  earth  o'er  which  they  reign 

Is  scarred  by  battle-fields  strewn  with  the  slain, 

While  famine,  plagues  and  bestial  passions  claim 

More  victims  than  the  sword  can  kill  or  maim. 

When  the  fifth  seal  was  opened  I  descried,  9         485 

Beneath  the  altar,  all  the  souls  that  bide 

The  coming  of  the  Self — the  souls  of  those 

Who  died  for  Wisdom's  sake,  and  to  disclose, 

In  coming  ages,  truths  that  still  remain 

A  secret  lore,  mysterious  and  arcane.  490 

And  now,  awakened,  they  complained  anew :  10 

"O  thou  Supreme,  the  Holy  and  the  True, 

How  long  wilt  thou  in  lenience  delay 

To  vindicate  us,  and  with  justice  weigh 

Our  righteous  blood  against  the  blood  of  them  495 

Who  slew  us,  and  who  now  thy  truths  contemn  ?" 

To  each  was  given  a  robe  of  purest  white,  11 

And  they  were  told  to  bide  their  evil  plight 

Until  their  brothers  and  companions,  doomed 

As  they  had  been,  were  martyred  and  entombed.  500 


4i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  sixth  seal  now  was  opened:  earth  was  torn  12 

With  seismic  shocks ;  the  darkened  sun  was  shorn 

Of  all  his  golden  rays;  the  silvery  moon 

Became  as  blood ;  the  stars  of  heaven  were  strewn  13 

Upon  the  earth,  as  when  a  fig-tree  casts  505 

Her  fruit  untimely,  shaken  by  rude  blasts ; 

The  sky  was  rolled  together  like  a  scroll,  11 

And  vanished ;  every  mountain,  hill  and  knoll 

Moved  onward,  and  each  island  in  the  sea, 

Broken  from  its  foundation,  drifted  free.  510 

The  kings  of  earth,  the  potentates,  the  heads  15 

Of  mighty  armies,  those  whom  wealth  besteads, 

The  men  of  strength,  and  all,  both  free  and  slaves, 

Hid  them  in  mountain-clefts  and  gloomy  caves; 

And  to  the  mountains  and  the  crags  they  cried  :  16         515 

"Fall  on  us,  O  ye  craggy  cliffs,  and  hide 

Us,  cowering,  from  the  throned  God's  awful  gaze, 

And  from  the  fury  which  the  Lamb  displays ; 

Their  day  of  sacred  frenzy  is  at  hand,  17 

The  hour  of  doom  is  come — and  who  can  stand  ?"  520 

The  Five  Solar  Life-Breaths,  and  the  Twelve  Celestial  Hierarchies 

And  next  I  saw  four  Regent-Gods,  who  reign  VH.  i 

At  earth's  four  corners,  and  the  winds  restrain. 

That  o'er  the  placid  earth  no  faintest  breeze 

Might  ripple  on  the  sea,  or  stir  the  trees. 

Another  Regent,  glorious  counterpart  2         525 

Of  Being's  Lord,  rose  from  the  pulsing  heart 

Of  the  Life-giving  Sun,  the  heavenly  king. 

He  bore  the  Life-God's  regal  signet-ring; 

And  to  the  Regents  of  the  sea  and  land 

With  a  sonorous  voice  he  gave  command :  3         530 

"Let  no  wind  blow  on  land  or  sea,  to  fret 

The  waveless  surface  of  the  sea,  nor  yet 

To  sway  the  leafy  trees,  till  we  have  sealed 

Upon  their  foreheads  all  the  saints  who  yield 


INITIATION  419 

Allegiance  to  our  God,  and  who  through  strife  535 

Have  won  their  way  to  the  eternal  life." 

And  when  the  royal  seal  had  been  applied,  4 

I  heard  the  number  of  the  sanctified : 

Twelve  times  twelve  thousand  was  the  number  sealed, 

Twelve  times  a  thousand  for  each  sign  revealed  540 

In  that  celestial  zone  that  marks  the  way 

Wherein  revolves  the  golden  orb  of  day. 

These  are  the  signs  :  the  Ram  with  golden  horns ;  5 

The  Bull,  whose  front  the  Hyad-group  adorns ; 

The  mighty  Twins ;  the  Crab  with  curving  claws ;  545 

The  Lion,  tawny-maned,  with  massive  jaws ;  6 

The  winged  Virgin,  whose  clenched  fingers  hold 

An  ear  of  corn ;  the  Balance,  called  of  old 

The  Scorpion's  Claws  (too  large  for  him  to  own)  ;  7 

The  strong-tailed  Scorpion,  who  is  sometimes  shown  550 

Grasping  a  solar  altar,  lamp  or  ring; 

The  Bowman,  with  an  arrow  drawn  to  string;  8 

The  Goat-horned  creature  of  the  watery  main; 

The  Water-pourer,  and  the  Fishes  twain. 

I  saw  a  throng  innumerable,  sprung  9         555 

From  every  nation,  race,  degree  and  tongue : 

Before  the  Sun-throne  and  the  Lamb  they  stood, 

White-robed  and  pure,  a  glorious  brotherhood. 

And  waving  palm-leaves,  thus  the  mighty  throng  10 

Lifted  their  voices  in  triumphant  song:  560 

"Salvation  to  our  Sun-throned  God  of  Peace, 

And  to  the  Lamb  with  radiant  golden  fleece.'' 

And  all  the  Gods  who  at  the  throne  adore,  1 1 

Circling  the  Ancients  and  the  sacred  Four, 

Before  the  throne  fell  prostrate,  worshipping  565 

With  choral  song  the  universal  King : 

"Oiu.    May  laudation,  glory,  sacred  lore,  12 

Thanks,  honor,  force  and  strength  forevermore 

Be  his  whose  throne  rests  on  the  heavenly  dome — 

Our  God  and  our  eternal  Father.     Oin."  570 


420  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

One  of  the  holy  Ancients  said  to  me  :  13 

"These  many  white-robed  worshippers  you  see — 

Who  are  they,  and  whence  came  they?"  I  repHed  :  14 

"My  Lord,  thou  knowest."    Then  he  testified 

To  me :  "These  are  the  conquerors  who  come  575 

From  that  dark  sphere  of  soul-dehrium 

Which  men  call  earth.    Its  trials  they  endured, 

And  wisely  all  its  witcheries  abjured. 

They  washed  their  robes  of  its  defiling  mud, 

And  bleached  them  in  the  Lamb's  rethereal  blood :  580 

To  aether  pure  they  rose  from  earth's  foul  mire,  15 

And  stand  before  the  Sun-God's  throne  of  fire; 

And  in  his  sanctuary  day  and  night 

They  serve  him ;  and  the  radiant  Lord  of  Light 

Shall  show  to  them,  where'er  his  rays  are  shed,  585 

The^whole  vast  cosmos  as  his  temple  spread. 

And  nevermore  shall  they,  by  priests  aspersed,  16 

For  truth  go  hungry  or  for  wisdom  thirst, 

Or  feel  the  brain  on  fire  with  baffling  thought, 

Its  holy  intuitions  burned  to  naught :  590 

For  now  the  Lamb  who  shares  the  throne  of  God  17 

And  leads  the  starry  flocks  with  magic  rod 

Shall  be  their  shepherd,  and  with  them  shall  go 

To  wisdom's  fount,  where  living  waters  flow ; 

And  nevermore  shall  tears  bedim  their  sight  595 

Whose  eyes  are  open  to  that  realm  of  light." 

The  seventh  seal  he  oped,  and  for  a  space  VIII.  i 

The  Silence  brooded  o'er  the  hallowed  place : 

The  scroll  was  opened,  the  first  conquest  won, 

And  on  the  Lamb  Peace  breathed  her  benison.  600 

III.     THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  SUPERNAL  AIR 
The  Seven  Calls  to  the  Spiritual  Life 

I  saw  the  seven  Gods  who  move  alway  2 

In  circling  paths  about  the  Lord  of  Day : 


INITIATION  421 

As  Regents  of  the  aether  sevenfold. 

Its  seven  trumpets,  silver-tongued,  they  hold ; 

Then  came  another  radiant  God,  who  rose  3         605 

Above  the  altar  where  the  sun-fire  glows, 

Having  a  golden  censer  and  a  store 

Of  incense  as  an  offering  to  pour, 

With  prayers  w'hich  all  the  devotees  intone 

Upon  the  golden  altar  near  the  throne;  610 

And  from  his  hand  the  fragrant  incense,  wreathed  4 

With  fervent  prayers  by  holy  men  outbreathed, 

Was  wafted  up  before  the  throned  Sire. 

The  God  then  filled  his  censer  with  the  fire  5 

Which  burns  upon  the  altar,  and  he  strewed  615 

The  fire  o'er  all  the  earth,  and  there  ensued 

The  voices  of  the  thunders,  with  the  flash 

Of  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake's  mighty  crash. 

The  seven  Gods  who  had  the  trumpets  all  6 

Prepared  themselves  to  give  the  trumpet-call.  620 

The  first  God  blew  a  rousing  trumpet-blast,  7 

And  hail  and  fire,  combined  with  blood,  were  cast 

Into  the  earth ;  and  of  the  earth  a  third, 

By  fire  consumed,  in  ashes  was  interred, 

Of  trees  a  third  to  embers  black  were  turned,  625 

And  all  the  verdant  grass  was  wholly  burned. 

The  second  God  then  sounded ;  there  was  hurled  8 

Into  the  sea  the  navel  of  the  world. 

Which  like  a  vast  volcano  breathed  out  fire. 

The  sea's  third  part,  the  w-aters  of  desire,  630 

Was  changed  to  blood,  and  in  that  crimson  tide  9 

A  third  of  all  the  psychic  creatures  died. 

And  of  the  ships  that  by  its  waves  are  tossed 

A  third  were  wrecked  and  in  its  depths  were  lost. 

The  third  celestial  trumpeter  sent  far  10         635 

The  rousing  strain,  and  from  the  sky  a  star, 

Superb,  and  like  a  torch  enkindled,  fell 

Upon  the  streams'  third  part,  and  founts  where  well 


422  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  living"  waters.    "Wormwood"  is  the  name  1 1 

Given  the  star ;  the  waters'  third  became  640 

As  wormwood,  and  the  many  men  who  drank 

The  bitter  waters  into  Orcus  sank. 

The  fourth  God  sounded:  the  Cloud-gatherer  blurred      12 

Of  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  each  one,  a  third, 

That  day  should  lose  one-third  of  all  its  light,  645 

And  likewise  darkened  be  one-third  of  night. 

I  saw  the  Eagle  soaring  in  mid-sky,  1 3 

And  heard  him  with  a  voice  stentorian  cry : 

"Thrice  woe  to  the  earth-dwellers !    Woes  befall 

When  sound  the  next  three  Gods  the  trumpet-call."  650 

The  fifth  God  gave  the  trumpet-call :  behold,  IX.  i 

I  saw  a  star  which  in  the  days  of  old 

Had  gleamed  in  highest  heaven,  but  now  must  plod 

Through  earthly  mire,  a  dimmed  and  fallen  God. 

The  key  which  opes  the  well-like  orifice  655 

That  leads  to  the  Ploutonian  abyss 

Was  given  him,  and  when  he  opened  it  2 

Dense  smoke  ascended  from  the  dreadful  pit, 

As  from  a  mighty  furnace,  and  the  sun 

Through  smoke-beclouded  air  showed  dim  and  dun ;  660 

And  from  the  smoke  came  locusts  in  a  shower  3 

Upon  the  earth.    To  them  was  given  the  power 

That  scorpions  have  on  earth,  and  stern  command  4 

Was  given  them,  that  o'er  the  fruitful  land 

The  herbage,  or  the  leaves  of  shrub  or  tree,  665 

They  should  not  damage,  but  their  right  should  be 

To  punish  men  who  on  their  brow  have  not 

The  seal  of  the  eternal  Lord  of  Thought ; 

And  these  they  were  commanded  not  to  kill,  5 

But  to  torment  them,  and  five  months  to  fill  670 

With  torture ;  and  such  pain  to  man  they  bring 

As  when  he  feels  the  scorpion's  cruel  sting. 

Now,  in  those  bitter  days  profane  mankind  6 

Shall  seek  for  Death,  and  him  shall  nowhere  find. 


INITIATION  423 

And  long  for  Death  from  pain  to  set  them  free,  675 

But  Death  disdainfully  from  them  shall  flee. 

The  locust-creatures,  weird  and  singular,  7 

Resembled  horses  when  prepared  for  war ; 

And  they  had  bands  like  crowns  of  tinsel  gold 

Upon  their  heads ;  their  faces  wore  the  mould  680 

Of  human  features,  and  their  hair  was  long  8 

Like  w^omen's  flowing  locks,  their  teeth  were  strong 

Like  teeth  of  lions;  their  thoraces  bare  9 

Were  like  the  iron  breastplates  warriors  wear. 

Their  wings  gave  forth  a  mighty  rushing  sound  685 

Like  that  which  rises  from  the  battle-ground 

When  hosts  of  warriors  in  their  chariots  go. 

With  horses  galloping,  against  the  foe. 

And  they  have  scorpion-tails,  which  terminate  10 

In  cruel  stings ;  and  with  the  power  of  hate  690 

Five  months  they  rule  mankind.    A  king  have  they,  1 1 

The  God  who  o'er  the  dark  abyss  holds  sway ; 

And  by  the  wise  this  Fallen  Star  is  known 

As  the  Destroyer,  dread  Apollydn. 

Then  cried  the  Eagle :  "That  first  woe  is  past;  12         695 

Behold,  two  other  woes  shall  follow  fast." 

The  sixth  God  sounded,  and  the  radiant  one  13 

Above  the  four-horned  altar  of  the  sun. 

The  Solar  King's  Vicegerent,  gave  command  14 

To  him  with  the  sixth  trumpet  in  his  hand :  700 

"Set  free  my  four  companions,  God's  uncrowned. 

Who  at  the  River  of  the  Sky  are  bound." 

The  four  great  manifested  Gods  were  freed,  15 

Who  erst  at  Time's  beginning  were  decreed  - 

To  rule  its  fourfold  cycles,  gathering  power  705 

Throughout  each  year,  and  month,  and  day,  and  hour. 

To  burst  the  bonds  of  time,  and  slay  a  third 

Of  all  the  evil  and  time-serving  herd. 

The  number  of  the  hosts  of  cavalry  16 

Was  full  two  hundred  millions ;  thus  to  me  710 


424  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Was  told  the  number,  and  't  was  thus  I  saw  17 

The  visioned  horses,  and  the  forms  of  awe 

Which  rode  them,  wearing  breastplates  rich  in  hue 

Of  fiery  red,  and  lustrous  smoky  blue, 

And  sulphurous  yellow.    And  the  mystic  steeds  715 

Have  heads  like  lions'.    From  their  mouth  proceeds 

Trine  breath  of  sulphur,  smoke  and  fire :  this  breath  18 

Of  triple  retribution  smote  with  death 

The  third  of  men,  who  met  their  dreadful  doom 

In  fire,  and  smoke,  and  lethal  sulphur-fume.  720 

For  thus  the  power  these  horses  that  avails  19 

Is  in  their  mouth  and  in  their  deadly  tails ; 

For  snake-like  tails  have  they,  that  end  in  heads. 

Wherewith  they  cause  such  pangs  as  mortal  dreads. 

The  men  surviving,  whom  the  triple  fire  20         725 

Had  not  destroyed,  changed  not  their  fell  desire. 

Their  lust  for  life  external,  nor  forbore 

To  worship  blindly,  as  they  did  before. 

The  evil  spirits,  and  as  Gods  to  throne 

Idols  of  gold  and  silver,  bronze  and  stone,  730 

And  wood — to  which  in  idle  pjayers  they  talk, 

But  which  can  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk. 

And,  unrepentant,  they  did  not  forbear  21 

To  murder,  and  in  sorcery's  rites  to  share. 

To  live  in  lewdness,  and  by  craft  or  stealth  735 

To  part  the  toilers  from  their  hard-earned  wealth. 

The  Book  of  the  Spiritual  Mysteries 

I  saw  descending  from  the  spatial  height  X.  I 

The  God  who  gives  to  Seers  their  piercing  sight : 

In  shining  aether  was  his  form  arrayed. 

And  o'er  his  head  soft  rainbow  colors  played ;  740 

His  face  the  sun's  refulgent  glory  showed. 

And  bright  his  feet  like  fiery  pillars  glowed. 

An  open  book,  a  little  scroll,  had  he,  2 

Upheld  to  view.    His  right  foot  on  the  sea 


INITIATION  425 

And  left  foot  on  the  earth  he  set,  and  cried  3         745 

With  voice  that  well  the  lion's  roar  outvied ; 

And  when  he  cried,  the  seven  Thunders  spoke 

The  vowel-sounds  by  which  the  Seers  invoke 

The  holy  Powers  that  bountifully  give 

The  wisdom  secret  and  intuitive.  750 

On  written  pages  I  would  fain  have  spread  4 

Their  teaching ;  but  a  voice  supernal  said : 

"Write  not  what  thus  the  Thunders  have  revealed, 

But  leave  their  sacred  mystery  closely  sealed." 

And  then  the  God  who  stood  on  sea  and  land  5  755 

Held  up  to  heaven  his  glorious  right  hand, 

And  by  the  Eternal,  whence  did  emanate  6 

Earth,  sky  and  sea,  and  all  things  small  and  great 

In  the  three  worlds  external,  thus  he  swore : 

"The  Great  Illusion,  Time,  shall  be  no  more ;  760 

But  whensoe'er  the  seventh  God  has  blown  7 

His  trumpet,  in  the  days  attuned  in  tone 

Accordant  with  his  voice,  the  Mystery 

Of  the  Eternal  shall  be  known  to  thee, 

As  promised  those  who  strive  for  vision  clear —  765 

The  time-unbounded  vision  of  the  Seer." 

And  then  to  me  the  voice  supernal  said :  8 

"Go,  take  the  scroll,  unfolded  and  unread 

Extended  by  the  God,  munificent, 

Standing  on  sea  and  earth."    Therefore  I  went  9         770 

Unto  the  God  and  asked  him  for  the  scroll. 

He  answered  :  "Take  it,  and  devour  the  whole ; 

Within  your  belly  bitterer  than  gall 

Will  be  its  contents,  for  it  changes  all 

Desires  to  poison ;  but  your  mouth  shall  taste  775 

The  honey-sweet  delights  of  Wisdom  chaste." 

And  so  I  took  the  little  scroll  he  held ;  10 

And  when  I  ate  it,  words  of  sweetness  welled 

Like  living  waters  from  my  mouth :  the  force 

Of  my  desires  turned  bitter  at  its  source ;  780 


426  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  now  to  me,  instructed  thus,  ahvay  1 1 

The  voices  of  the  seven  Thunders  say : 

"Thus  grounded  in  the  knowledge  of  the  True, 

'T  is  thine  to  bring  the  sacred  truths  anew 

To  those  four  grades  of  men  wdio  are  untaught,  785 

Confuting  them  who  pose  as  kings  of  thought." 

The  Wand  of  Hermes— The  Two  Witnesses  of  the  Lord 
of  Occult  Wisdom 

Then  he  who  is  of  sacred  lore  the  God  XI.  i 

Gave  me  the  winged  and  serpent-woven  rod 

Which  is  his  staff  of  office.    He,  my  guide 

On  Wisdom's  path,  with  voice  mellifluent  cried :  790 

"Rouse  thee,  and  measure  with  the  sacred  wand 

The  fane  supernal,  inmost  and  beyond, 

The  square-hewn  altar,  and  the  multitude 

Who  worship ;  but  the  outer  court  exclude,  2 

Nor  measure  it,  for  unto  men  profane  795 

It  has  been  given,  and  forty  months  and  twain 

Shall  they  unchecked  the  sacred  city  tread ; 

And  I  shall  give  it,  when  that  time  has  sped,  3 

To  my  two  witnesses,  and  clothed  in  rough 

And  homely  garments,  they  with  voices  gruff  800 

Shall  teach  twelve  hundred  sixty  days."     Now^  these  4 

Tw'O  witnesses  are  the  two  olive-trees. 

And  lampstands  twain — the  lights  of  death  and  birth — 

That  stand  before  the  Regent  of  the  Earth. 

Should  evil  men  on  them  their  will  impose,  5         805 

Fire  issues  from  their  mouth  and  slays  their  foes ; 

And  thus  must  every  sinful  man  be  slain 

Who  uses  wrongfully  the  sacred  twain. 

These  witnesses  have  power  to  shut  the  sky,  6 

That  no  downpouring  w'aters  may  defy  810 

The  ardency  with  which  they  teach,  or  chill 

The  living  fires  that  work  their  holy  will : 


INITIATION  427 

For  they  have  breath  of  fire,  and  ever  speak 

In  words  of  flame ;  and  they  have  power  to  wreak 

Just  vengeance  on  the  waters,  and  to  turn  815 

The  waters  into  blood,  and  mete  out  stern, 

Swift  retribution,  when  occasion  needs, 

To  mortals  who  persist  in  evil  deeds. 

When  they  have  thus  borne  witness,  and  have  ceased  7 

Their  labors  for  a  while,  the  savage  Beast  820 

Wlio  lurks  in  the  abyss,  and  prowls  for  prey, 

Them  shall  attack,  and  conquering  shall  slay. 

Their  lifeless  bodies  in  the  main-street  sprawl  8 

Of  that  great  city  which  the  mystics  call 

The  "Realm  of  Night"  and  "City  Crimson-dyed,"  825 

In  which  their  Lord  was  also  crucified. 

And  some  among  the  four  appointed  grades  9 

Which  give  profane  mankind  its  varying  shades 

Regard  those  hallowed  corpses,  and  forbid 

That  in  a  house  of  death  they  should  be  hid ;  830 

And  thus  to  them  for  three  days  and  a  half 

The  tomb  remains  an  idle  cenotaph. 

And  they  whose  minds  are  rooted  in  the  earth  10 

Rejoice  o'er  them,  and  yield  to  witless  mirth ; 

And  they  shall  send  each  other  gifts,  as  one  835 

Who  seeks  to  bribe  his  conscience,  thus  to  shun 

Its  accusations ;  for  these  teachers  twain 

Tormented  those  who  are  of  earthly  strain. 

And  when  the  three  and  one-half  days  were  gone  1 1 

The  breath  of  life  awaked  them,  and  anon  840 

They  stood  upon  their  feet,  and  sudden  dread 

Seized  all  beholders  of  the  risen  dead. 

A  wondrous  voice  that  came  from  heaven  they  heard        12 

Saying  to  them,  "Come  hither."    At  the  word 

Straightway  upon  a  shining  cloud  they  rose  845 

Into  the  sky,  beheld  by  all  their  foes. 

That  very  hour  a  frightful  earthquake  came  13 

To  decimate  that  city  dead  to  shame, 


428  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  of  the  dwellers  who  its  precincts  filled 

Full  seven  thousand  luckless  wights  were  killed.  850 

The  rest,  affrighted,  raised  their  voice  on  high 

To  glorify  the  Regent  of  the  Sky. 

Again  the  Eagle  cried :  "The  second  woe  14 

Is  past ;  the  third  shall  quickly  come  and  go." 

The  seventh  God's  awaking  trumpet  blared,  15         855 

And  thunderous  voices  in  the  sky  declared : 

"Now  shall  the  realm  of  Time  to  naught  disperse ; 

And  then  a  new,  enduring  universe 

The  Conqueror  shall  royally  attain, 

And  through  the  endless  aeons  he  shall  reign."  860 

The  twice-twelve  Ancients,  each  upon  his  throne,  16 

Circling  the  Sun-God  in  the  planet-zone. 

Bowed  low  in  worship ;  and  the  star-vault  rang 

With  planetary  music  as  they  sang :  17 

"Eternal  Self  of  All,  omnipotent,  865 

Of  Gods  and  men  the  Sire,  in  whom  are  blent 

The  future  and  the  past,  to  thee  we  raise 

Our  song  of  gratitude,  and  thee  we  praise. 

Because  thou  hast  thy  royal  power  resumed. 

And  with  thy  light  the  universe  illumed.  870 

The  people  were  with  furious  passions  torn ;  18 

And  thy  creative  fury  then  was  born : 

The  time  had  come,  with  evil  passions  rife, 

To  render  judgment  on  the  dead-in-life, 

Rewarding  thy  devoted  saints,  the  Seers,  875 

And  every  mortal  who  thy  name  reveres. 

And  them  destroying  who  in  maddened  mirth 

Are  now  destroying  the  all-suffering  earth." 

The  inner  temple  of  the  God  of  Light  19 

Was  opened  in  the  blue  aethereal  height ;  880 

And  in  his  temple,  where  twain  powers  reposed. 

The  Vessel  of  the  Mystery  was  disclosed  : 

Then  followed  lightnings,  seven  thunder-tones. 

An  earthquake,  and  a  hail  of  pearly  stones. 


INITIATION  429 

The  Travail  of  the  Spiritual  Birth 

A  wondrous  sign  was  in  the  sky  displayed,  XII.  i  885 

A  winged  Woman  with  the  sun  arrayed, 

Beneath  her  feet  the  moon ;  and  o'er  her  head 

Twelve  brilliant  stars  a  crown  of  radiance  shed  : 

And,  big  with  child,  and  her  delivery  nigh,  2 

Unceasingly  she  raised  a  doleful  cry.  890 

The  Serpent  of  Desire 

Another  constellation,  vast  and  weird,  3 

Along  the  pictured  vault  of  heaven  appeared — 

A  mighty  Dragon,  of  the  hue  of  flame. 

With  seven  heads  upon  his  sinuous  frame ; 

And  ten  destructive  horns  stood  out  before  895 

The  seven  gleaming  diadems  he  wore. 

His  tail  was  drawing  from  the  firmament  4 

A  third  of  all  the  stars,  and  swiftly  sent 

All  these  adown  to  earth  in  glittering  rain. 

Before  the  Woman  crying  out  in  pain  900 

And  piteously  writhing  in  birth-pangs 

The  fiery  Dragon  stood  with  waiting  fangs. 

Keen  to  devour  her  babe.    A  child  she  bore,  5 

A  beauteous  boy,  to  be  the  shepherd  o'er 

All  nations,  ruling  them  with  magic  rod.  905 

Swiftly  the  babe  was  carried  up  to  God 

And  to  the  throne.    The  Woman  fled  apace  6 

Far  to  the  desert ;  there  she  has  a  place 

Most  holy,  where  the  Gods  to  whom  she  prays 

May  nourish  her  twelve  hundred  sixty  days.  910 

Then  dreadful  war  was  in  the  heavens  waged:  7 

The  Sun-Lord  and  the  Gods  in  strife  engaged 

The  fiery  Dragon,  whose  encircling  line 

Of  demon-powers  touched  heaven's  highest  shrine. 

The  Dragon's  boasted  strength  availed  him  not ;  8         915 

His  sign  in  heaven  became  a  vacant  spot : 


430  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

For  down  to  earth  the  crooked  Snake  was  hurled—  9 

That  ancient  Dragon  who  deludes  the  world  — 

And  all  his  host  fell  with  him  from  on  high. 

I  heard  a  voice  proclaiming  from  the  sky :  10         920 

"Deliverance  now  is  come,  the  Power  regained, 

The  Realm  established,  and  the  Self  attained  : 

For  now  is  the  Accuser  cast  to  earth 

Who  doth  from  birth  to  death,  and  death  to  birth, 

Accuse  our  brothers  with  relentless  hate  925 

Before  our  God;  but  through  their  Advocate,  11 

The  Lamb  who  shed  his  blood  in  their  defence, 

And  through  the  trueness  of  their  evidence. 

They  now  have  vanquished  that  arch-vilifier, 

And  scorned  the  fleeting  body  of  desire.  930 

Therefore  rejoice,  ye  Skies  and  Heaven-born;  12 

But  woe  to  earth  and  sea ;  for  that  forsworn 

And  dread  Accuser,  thus  from  heaven  hurled. 

Still  prowls  unconquered  in  the  mortal  world, 

And  fiery  passions  in  his  bosom  burn,  935 

For  well  he  knows  how  short  is  his  sojourn." 

The  Dragon,  finding  he  was  cast  to  earth,  13 

Against  the  Woman  who  had  given  birth 

To  that  most  glorious  child  turned  then  his  rage, 

Pursuing  her,  his  fury  to  assuage.  940 

But  thereupon  the  Eagle,  Lord  of  Thought,  14 

To  her,  the  persecuted  Mother,  brought 

His  pair  of  mighty  wings,  and  them  she  spread 

And  to  her  desert  place  of  refuge  fled. 

And  there  for  three  and  one-half  years  remained,  945 

Secure  against  the  Serpent,  and  sustained 

By  Gods  w^ho  brought  their  own  ambrosial  food 

To  her  in  that  protected  solitude. 

And  from  his  mouth  the  baffled  Serpent  poured  15 

A  venomed  stream  the  fleeing  Woman  toward,  950 

As  't  were  a  river,  that  the  waters  might 

O'ertake  her  and  o'erwhelm  her  in  her  flight. 


INITIATION  431 

But  Earth  came  to  her  rescue :  as  when  drouth  16 

Dries  up  the  waters,  so  with  opened  mouth 

Earth,  keen  to  foil  the  Dragon's  fell  intent,  955 

Drank  up  the  stream  which  from  his  mouth  he  sent. 

Defeated  e'er,  the  Dragon's  fury  grew  17 

Against  the  Woman ;  and  he  now  withdrew 

To  wage  relentless  war  against  the  rest 

Of  her  fair  sons,  who  to  the  Self  attest  960 

And  do  whate'er  the  Father  may  command. 

Beside  the  sea  the  Dragon  took  his  stand.  XIII.  i 

The  Carnal  Mind 

And  then  I  saw  from  out  the  sea's  vast  surge 

A  seven-headed,  ten-horned  Beast  emerge  : 

On  every  horn  a  diadem  had  he,  965 

And  on  his  heads  seven  names  of  blasphemy. 

This  fierce  Sea-monster,  with  his  stealthy  glide,  2 

Was  like  a  leopard  with  his  spotted  hide ; 

Bearlike  he  boasted  deadly-hugging  paws. 

And  lionlike  could  rend  with  cruel  jaws.  970 

The  Dragon  gave  him  power  enthroned  to  reign, 

And  great  authority  o'er  men  profane. 

I  saw  that  of  his  seven  heads  one  head  3 

Was  wounded,  and  it  seemingly  was  dead ; 

And  yet  this  head,  though  slain  in  deadly  strife,  975 

Was  healed  and  energized  with  lusty  life. 

All  mortals  followed  with  admiring  gaze 

The  Beast,  and  worshipped  him  with  vapid  praise. 

The  Dragon,  too,  they  worshipped,  since  't  was  he  4 

Who  gave  the  Beast  his  proud  authority,  980 

And  his  adorability  increased. 

Said  they:  "Who  is  the  equal  of  the  Beast? 

What  mortal  has  the  learning,  skill  and  strength 

To  match  the  Beast  in  height,  or  depth,  or  length  ?" 

The  Beast  was  gifted  with  a  mouth  that  roared  5         985 

Great  boastings  and  foul  blasphemies  outpoured ; 


432  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

For  two  and  forty  months  this  arrogant 

y\nd  vile  Sea-monster  was  allowed  to  rant. 

Plis  impious  mouth  he  opened  to  blaspheme  6 

The  name  and  majesty  of  the  Supreme,  990 

The  sky  where  circling  planets  chant  their  paean, 

And  all  the  Gods  that  grace  the  empyrean. 

The  Beast  was  able,  from  his  monstrous  size,  7 

Fell  war  to  wage  against  the  good  and  wise, 

God's  chosen,  and  by  wile  and  stratagem,  995 

And  weight  of  sheer  brute- force,  to  conquer  them. 

And  through  the  grosser  faculties  of  mind 

He  ruled  the  four  great  castes  among  mankind  : 

And  all  on  earth,  whose  vision,  veiled  and  dim,  8 

Ne'er  pierces  heavenly  heights,  shall  worship  him,  1000 

Yea,  every  sinful  mortal,  wisdom-lorn. 

Whose  name,  since  first  the  universe  was  born. 

Has  not  been  written  in  the  living  scroll 

Which  holds  the  record  of  each  deathless  soul. 

Now  bend  thine  ear  and  listen  well;  for  know,  9       1005 

The  slaver  into  slavery  shall  go,  10 

The  slayer  expiate  his  victim's  pain 

When  by  the  cruel  sword  himself  is  slain  ; 

For  thus  the  law  of  perfect  justice  weighs 

Each  thought  and  deed  of  man,  and  strictly  pays,  10 10 

From  life  to  life,  to  every  man  his  due. 

If  good  his  works  or  evil,  false  or  true. 

Therefore  the  saints  and  sages  of  the  earth 

With  patience  fine  accept  the  woes  of  birth. 

Trusting  the  perfect  Law  whose  faultless  scales  1015 

Are  balanced  when  the  deathless  Self  prevails. 

The  Principle  of  Superstition 

I  saw  arise  a  second  Beast  untame,  1 1 

As  from  the  earth  emerged  his  hideous  frame  : 

Two  lamblike  horns  he  had,  and  he  could  preach 

With  priestly  cant  quite  like  the  Dragon's  speech.  1020 


INITIATION  433 

And  all  the  first  Wild-beast's  authority  12 

He  wields  when  in  his  presence  he  may  be, 

Compelling-  all  Earth's  children  to  adore 

That  seven-headed  monster  who  of  yore 

Received  his  death-blow,  but  whose  wound  was  healed.  1025 

He  makes  great  signs  appear  in  heaven's  field,  13 

That  he  may  even  set  the  earth  ablaze 

With  heaven's  fire,  before  the  rabble's  gaze. 

And  thus  before  the  Beast  he  plays  his  part  14 

With  priestly  craft  and  thaumaturgic  art,  1030 

And  with  his  miracles  and  platitudes 

The  common  herd  of  men  fore'er  deludes. 

And  bids  them  make  an  Image  of  the  Beast 

Whose  mortal  wound  his  span  of  life  increased. 

This  Beast-like  Image  he  endowed  with  breath,  15       1035 

Giving  it  power  to  speak  and  deal  out  death 

To  all  disdainful  mortals  who  refuse 

To  worship  it— and  pay  their  temple-dues. 

And  all  mankind,  alike  the  young  and  old,  16 

Both  rich  and  poor,  both  bond  and  free,  are  told  1040 

That  on  their  forehead  or  their  dexter  hand 

They  must  be  branded  with  the  Beast's  red  brand. 

And  that,  in  all  the  marts  w^here  men  contrive  17 

To  gather  wealth,  or  desperately  strive 

The  threatening  wolf  of  hunger  to  repel,  1045 

No  man  should  trade  or  barter,  buy  or  sell, 

Unless  he  wears  that  ruddy  brand  of  shame, 

The  Wild-beast's  name,  or  number  of  his  name. 

Now,  here  is  an  enigma :  let  the  wise  18 

His  keenest  intuition  exercise,  1050 

And  count  the  number  of  the  Beast ;  for  know, 

It  is  the  number  of  a  man,  and  so 

His  number — such  are  kabbalistic  tricks — 

Is  just  six  hundred  and  three  score  and  six. 


434  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

IV.     THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  SUPERNAL  FIRE 

The  Seven  Sun-rayed  Gods,  and  the  Bread  and  Wine  of  Life 

I  saw  the  Lamb,  whose  shining  feet  now  trod  XIV.  i        1055 

The  lofty  summit  of  the  Mount  of  God, 

And  with  him  the  supernal  brotherhood, 

A  hundred  forty  and  four  thousand,  stood. 

And  on  their  foreheads,  lettered  as  with  flame, 

His  name  was  written,  with  his  Father's  name.  1060 

I  heard  a  sound  the  heights  sethereal  sweep  2 

Like  rolling  billows  on  the  boundless  deep, 

Or  thunder-peals  reverberating  long 

When  lightning-laden  clouds  give  voice  to  song : 

Such  sound  it  was  as  only  could  be  made  1065 

On  magic  lyres  by  heavenly  minstrels  played. 

They  chant  a  p?ean,  never  heard  of  yore,  3 

Before  the  throne,  the  Ancients  and  the  Four; 

And  none  can  learn  that  song,  or  understand 

Its  mystic  meaning,  save  the  chosen  band —  1070 

The  hundred  forty  and  four  thousand  blest. 

Redeemed  from  earth  at  heaven's  high  behest. 

These  matchless  masters  of  the  Sun-Lord's  lyre  4 

Are  they  who  shunned  the  procreative  fire. 

And  having  thus  the  lovely  child-state  kept  1075 

In  heavenly  music  they  are  now  adept. 

They  are  the  twelve  Companions,  multiplied 

By  twelve,  and  by  a  thousand ;  and  they  glide 

On  winged  feet,  with  streaming  sunny  locks, 

Around  the  Lamb  who  leads  the  starry  flocks.  1080 

They  are  the  souls  whom  purity  has  freed 

From  generative  spheres,  where  mortals  breed 

Like  animals,  the  creatures  of  a  day. 

Ever  of  birth  and  death  the  hapless  prey. 

First  fruits  are  they  whom  purity  has  brought  1085 

To  the  Eternal  Self  and  Lord  of  Thought. 


INITIATION  435 

Their  every  word  is  verity  and  sooth,  5 

For  they  are  faultless  oracles  of  Truth. 

I  saw  a  sun-rayed  God,  the  first  of  those  6 

Who  from  the  sun's  fire-pulsing  heart  arose,  1090 

Soaring  in  heaven's  height ;  this  God  is  he 

Who  holds  in  trust  Time's  garnered  mystery. 

Which  he  reveals  to  men  of  well-proved  worth 

Who  yet  remain  embodied  on  the  earth. 

And  to  the  four  inferior  castes  forlorn  1095 

By  whom  the  world's  most  grievous  loads  are  borne. 

With  ringing  voice  he  cried :  "Regard  with  awe  7 

The  Self  Supreme,  and  keep  his  perfect  law ; 

For  now  is  come  his  judgment's  fateful  hour. 

Worship  the  God  whose  pure  creative  power  1 100 

Called  forth  the  heavens,  the  earth's  rock-founded  frame. 

The  billowy  sea,  and  founts  of  liquid  flame." 

A  sun-rayed  God,  the  second,  following,  8 

With  cry  exultant  made  the  sky-vault  ring : 

"She  fell !    The  mighty  Haunted  City  fell !  1 105 

The  scarlet  wanton,  she  who  did  compel 

All  mortals  dwelling  on  earth's  verdured  crust 

To  drink  the  wine  of  her  impetuous  lust." 

A  sun-rayed  God,  the  third,  came  next,  and  loud  9 

His  voice  he  lifted  as  he  thus  avowed :  mo 

"li  any  mortal  still  the  Beast  adores. 

Or  falls,  as  if  sub-human,  on  all  fours 

Before  its  Image,  or  receives  the  brand 

Of  crimson  on  his  brow  or  on  his  hand. 

He,  too,  poor  fatuous  wretch,  shall  drink  his  fill  10       1 1 15 

Of  fiery  wine — the  life-creative  will 

Which  ever  agitates  the  brute  World-soul 

In  the  abysmal  cosmic  mixing-bowl ; 

And  he  by  pain  and  sorrow  shall  be  tried, 

As  though  by  burning  sulphur  purified,  1 120 

In  sight  of  all  the  Gods,  and  in  the  sight 

Of  his  own  deathless  Self  in  heaven's  height. 


436  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

For  through  the  ages  it  was  ever  thus  1 1 

With  mortals  ignorant  and  credulous, 

Who,  unenlightened,  with  the  Beast-mind  plod,  1 1 25 

Adoring  its  crude  Image  as  their  God, 

And  wearing  that  Beast-mark,  for  men  unfit. 

That  stamps  the  simpleton  or  hypocrite : 

Like  smoke  through  which  the  sunlight  can  not  shine, 

Their  mental  fog  shuts  out  the  Thought  Divine,  1 130 

And  day  and  night  their  blindly  groping  quest 

Leads  not  to  mental  peace  or  heavenly  rest. 

Not  thus  it  is  with  men  serenely  wise,  12 

Who  heed  the  deathless  Self,  and  justly  prize 

The  sacred  learning  that  is  only  taught  1 135 

When  Truth  Supreme  is  in  the  Silence  sought." 

I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying:  "Write,  13 

Immortal  are  'the  dead'  who  in  the  bright 

Irradiance  of  the  Sun-God  henceforth  die." 

"Yea,"  quoth  the  storied  ^Ether  in  reply,  1 140 

"That  they  may  thus  their  earthly  toil  conclude. 

Though  still  by  fate-evolving  works  pursued." 

I  then  beheld  the  Sun-God,  Lord  of  Light,  14 

Enthroned  upon  a  cloud  of  purest  white; 

His  head  was  crowned  with  golden-colored  rays,  1 145 

Dazzling  the  sky  with  their  effulgent  blaze. 

And  in  his  hand  extended  he  displayed 

A  reaping-hook  with  keen-edged  crescent  blade. 

A  sun-rayed  God  came  forth,  the  shining  one  15 

Who  rules  the  inner  temple  of  the  sun,  1150 

And  loudly  to  the  cloud-throned  God  he  cried : 

"Let  now  your  keen-edged  sickle  be  applied ; 

The  hour  to  reap  has  come :  Earth's  golden  grain 

Waits  ripe  and  dry  upon  the  sacred  plain." 

The  God  stretched  forth  his  silvery  reaping-hook  16       1155 

And  from  the  earth  its  ripened  harvest  took. 

The  sun-rayed  Gods  bestowed  this  gift  on  man — 

The  bread  of  life.    For  with  the  sacred  fan  ^ 


INITIATION  437 

The  grain  was  winnowed,  and  with  millstones  brayed 

To  precious  flour  from  which  life's  bread  is  made.  1160 

A  sun-rayed  God  came  forth,  the  Regent  high  17 

Who  rules  the  inner  temple  of  the  sky : 

He  also  held  a  hook  wherewith  to  glean, 

Which  like  a  scimitar  was  curved  and  keen. 

A  sun-rayed  God  forth  from  the  altar  came —  18       1 165 

The  Regent  of  its  quenchless  triple  flame — 

And  with  a  silvery  accent  thus  he  bade 

Him  who  the  brightly  gleaming  sickle  had  : 

"Stretch  forth  your  blade,  and  from  earth's  fruitful  vine 

Gather  the  clustering  grapes  that  shower  and  shine  1 170 

Have  fully  ripened,  ready  to  be  trod 

In  the  empurpled  wine-vat  of  the  God." 

The  Wine-God  o'er  the  earth  his  sickle  played,  19 

Stripping  earth's  sacred  vineyard  with  his  blade, 

And  threw  the  gathered  store  of  luscious  fruit  1175 

Into  the  wine-\at  where  the  Gods  transmute 

The  wine  of  life,  when  from  the  fruit  expressed, 

To  holy  ichor  of  the  heaven-blest. 

Outside  the  city  walls  the  vat,  replete  20 

With  fruitage  fine,  was  trodden  by  their  feet,  11 80 

And  from  the  wine-vat  flowed  beneath  their  tread 

Ethereal  blood,  the  ichor,  and  it  spread. 

In  life-bestowing  streams  of  golden  hue, 

Full  sixteen  hundred  furlongs,  even  to 

The  bridles  of  the  four  great  steeds  that  run  1 185 

Before  the  splendid  chariot  of  the  sun. 

V.     THE  INITIATION  BY  THE  SUPERNAL  EARTH 

The  Seven  Gods  Pour  Lustrations  on  the  Earth,  and  Her 
Immortal  Son  is  Born 

Then  saw  I  in  the  sky  a  wondrous  sign,  XV.  i 

The  seven  Gods  enrobed  in  starry  shine 


438  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Who,  peerless  ones  of  all  the  Gods,  control 

The  seven  retributions  of  the  soul —  1 190 

The  final  throes  of  purifying  pain 

The  dauntless  heaven-conqueror  must  sustain. 

I  saw  the  aether  of  the  cloudless  height  2 

Where  dwell  the  blessed  Gods  in  pristine  Light : 

'T  was  like  a  sea  of  flowing  crystal  veined  1 195 

With  golden  fire.    They  who  had  victory  gained 

Over  the  Beast,  his  Image,  and  the  thrall 

Of  thoughts  that  on  the  earth  can  only  crawl, 

Were  standing  on  that  sea,  no  more  compelled 

To  grope  on  earth  ignobly,  but  upheld  1200 

By  shining  aether  and  by  solar  fires 

In  wisdom's  highest  heaven.    Sweet-toned  lyres 

Had  they,  such  as  the  lyre  the  Radiant  Youth, 

The  God  of  Art  and  Oracle  of  Truth, 

Touches  with  tuneful  fingers;  and  a  paean  3       1205 

They  sang,  victorious  in  the  empyrean, 

To  him,  the  Sun-God  who  had  safely  led 

Their  weary  feet  through  life's  red  waters — red 

With  burning  passions.    Him  they  also  praised. 

The  holy  Lamb  who  them  to  heaven  raised —  12 10 

The  leader  of  the  countless  starry  throng 

In  heaven's  field  aethereal.    This  their  song:  4 

"O  Master-God,  acclaimed  by  heavenlv  choirs 

All-Dominator  of  the  solar  fires. 

Thy  works  transcendent  thou  dost  intersperse  121 5 

Among  the  spheres  that  fill  the  universe. 

And  thou,  bright  Leader  of  the  Shining  Powers, 

Whom  the  unbounded  azure  sky  embowers, 

Dost  thy  serene  and  open  pathways  trace 

Through  starry  pastures  in  aethereal  space.  1220 

O  Regent  of  the  holy  triple  flame. 

Who  shall  not  hold  in  awe  thy  mystic  name  ? 

For  thou,  of  all  the  deathless  Gods,  alone 

Canst  now  to  man  the  saving  truth  make  known ; 


INITIATION  439 

And  therefore  all  mankind  shall  worship  thee,  1225 

For  thou  dost  judge,  and  set  the  worthy  free." 

Again  I  looked :  now  opened  was  the  fane  5 

Within  the  temple  where  the  Seers  obtain 

The  wisdom  older  than  the  dawn  of  time; 

And  from  the  fane  the  seven  Gods  sublime  6       1230 

Who  hold  the  seven  retributions  came, 

Their  raiment  glittering  with  a  starry  flame 

As  from  the  facets  of  a  diamond  thrown, 

And  girt  about  the  breasts  with  golden  zone. 

One  of  the  mighty  Four,  the  sacred  Bull,  7       1235 

Brought  seven  golden  pateras,  all  full 

Of  the  regenerative  force  divine 

The  Gods  had  gained  when  the  enchanted  wine 

Flowed  from  the  wine-vat  of  the  beauteous  God, 

The  Youth  etern,  who  bears  the  cone-tipped  rod;  1240 

And  to  his  septenate  the  Taurine  one 

Gave  these  libation-bowls.    As  when  the  sun  8 

By  clouds  is  hidden,  so  the  fane  became 

Darkened  by  smoke  from  the  ensphering  flame 

Around  the  sceptred  God,  and  from  the  Force  1245 

Now  rising  radiant  to  its  primal  source ; 

And  none  had  power  to  enter  or  descry 

That  fane  where  dwells  the  Ruler  of  the  Sky, 

Until  the  seven  Gods  should  have  fulfilled 

The  seven  retributions  he  had  willed.  1250 

And  from  the  fane,  now  veiled  in  curling  smoke,        XVI.  i 

His  voice  melodious  and  vibrant  spoke. 

Commanding  thus  the  seven  Gods  :  "Now  take 

The  seven  golden  pateras  and  make 

Libation,  pouring  out  upon  the  earth  1255 

The  sacred  forces  of  the  solar  birth." 

The  first  God  went,  and  his  libation  poured  2 

Upon  the  earth.    To  mortals  who  adored 

The  Image  of  the  Beast  and  bore  his  brand 

'T  was  given  through  pain  and  grief  to  understand  1260 


440  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

That  earth  has  now  become,  through  sin's  red  curse, 

A  grievous  ulcer  on  the  universe. 

The  second  God  then  emptied  on  the  sea  3 

His  golden  bowl.     Its  waters,  rolling  free, 

Turned  into  clotted  blood,  such  as  remains  1265 

Within  a  dead  man's  cold  and  pulseless  veins ; 

And  all  the  creatures  dwelling  in  the  tide 

Of  that  great  psychic  sea  of  sorrow  died. 

The  third  God  poured  upon  the  lesser  flood  4 

Of  founts  and  streams  his  bowl ;  and  into  blood  1270 

The  waters  changed.    The  Regent  holding  sway  5 

Over  the  seething  waters  I  heard  say : 

"O  righteous  Lord  of  Destiny  who  hast 

Evolved  the  present  from  the  fateful  past, 

Justly  hast  thou  applied  thy  chastening  rod  1275 

To  them  who  worshipped  as  the  one  true  God 

The  Wild-beast's  Image,  deaf,  inert  and  blind — 

The  cosmic  shadow  of  man's  mortal  mind. 

For  they,  accursed  by  superstitious  fears,  6 

Poured  out  the  blood  of  sages,  saints  and  seers ;  1280 

And  now  in  anguish  they  perforce  have  quaffed 

Retributory  blood  in  plenteous  draught." 

In  lofty  praise  the  God  of  Fire  concurred,  7 

And  from  the  altar-flame  his  voice  I  heard 

Thus  saying :  "Yea,  O  mighty  Power  august,  1285 

Thy  judgments  are  infallible  and  just." 

The  fourth  God  then  his  golden  bowl  outpoured  8 

Upon  the  sun :  the  blazing  forces  stored 

Within  its  throbbing  heart  were  freed,  and  men  9 

Were  tortured  by  the  scorching  heat,  as  when  1290 

By  burning  and  incessant  thought  the  mind 

To  madness  is  tormented.    They  maligned 

The  God  who  sends  these  retributions ;  still 

They  did  not  turn  to  do  his  holy  will. 

The  fifth  God  then  poured  out  his  bowl  to  whelm  10       1295 

The  Wild-beast's  throne ;  and  darkened  w^as  his  realm. 


INITIATION  441 

His  subjects  writhed  with  agony,  and  cursed  1 1 

The  Regent  of  the  Sky  because  their  thirst 

For  hfe  had  brought  them  but  disease  and  pain  ; 

But  they  from  wicked  deeds  did  not  refrain.  1300 

The  sixth,  the  God  the  Sun-powers  glorify,  12 

Poured  out  upon  the  River  of  the  Sky 

His  golden  bowl.    The  stream  was  dried,  and  showed 

An  empty  channel,  making  thus  a  road 

Whereon  might  journey  those  gift-bearing  kings  1305 

Who  come  from  whence  the  radiant  sun  upsprings. 

Then  from  the  three  wide-gaping  mouths  unpurged,  13 

The  Dragon's,  Beast's,  and  Pseudo-seer's,  emerged 

Three  filthy  spirits,  like  the  croaking  frogs 

That  make  their  home  in  the  miasmal  bogs  13 10 

That  mire  the  feet  of  men  and  load  the  air 

With  noxious  vapors,  even  as  the  snare 

Of  wily  priestcraft  captures  the  profane. 

And  as  its  misty  doctrines  fog  the  brain. 

These  spirits  three  are  like  the  soulless  wraiths  14       13 15 

Of  dead  religions  and  decaying  faiths. 

Still  croaking  dismal  doctrines  void  of  sense, 

And  working  signs  and  wonders — in  pretence  : 

Ttiey  prowled  o'er  all  the  world,  both  near  and  far, 

To  band  together  all  its  kings  ior  war  13-20 

On  that  fast-nearing  day  when  gloriously 

The  Self  shall  make  his  advent.     (Whispers  he :  15 

"With  stealthy  pace  my  advent  I  shall  make ; 

Blessed  is  he  who  watches,  wide-awake 

And  fully  clothed,  lest  taken  unaware  1325 

He  find  himself  in  utter  shame  laid  bare.") 

And  these  in  serried  phalanx  they  arrayed  16 

In  Rhea's  realm — great  Goddess  renegade ! 

The  seventh  God  upon  the  air  poured  out  17 

His  golden  patera.    A  mighty  shout  1330 

Came  from  the  throned  God  whose  aura  flamed 

Within  the  fane,  and  thus  his  voice  proclaimed  : 


442  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Lo,  he  is  born  !    The  Conqueror  has  won 

The  deathless  form  more  radiant  than  the  sun." 

Glad  Hghtnings  gleamed,  and  with  exultant  voice  i8       1335 

The  seven  Thunders  bade  the  world  rejoice  ; 

And  at  the  cry  our  beauteous  mother  Earth 

Was  shaken  by  tremendous  throes  of  birth  : 

Ne'er  since  the  many-breasted  Mother  first 

Brought  forth  the  mortal  children  she  has  nursed  1 340 

Was  she  by  such  stupendous  earthquake  torn 

As  when  that  strong  immortal  son  was  born. 

The  City  of  the  Mortals  yet  remained ;  19 

Three  of  its  four  divisions  it  retained, 

But  all  the  dwellings  of  the  common  herd  1345 

Were  in  a  seismic  chasm  now  sepulchred  : 

The  mighty  Haunted  City,  held  in  mind 

By  the  Eternal  Self,  was  now  assigned 

The  wine-cup  filled  o'erbrimming  at  the  source 

Of  his  creative — and  destructive — force.  1350 

All  islands,  loosened,  drifted  on  the  main,  20 

And  mountains  all  were  levelled  to  the  plain. 

Hail  from  the  sky,  each  stone  a  hundredweight,  21 

Pelted  the  earth  perverse  and  reprobate, 

As  when  man's  conscience  from  its  realm  occult  1355 

Hurls  at  his  soul,  as  from  a  catapult, 

Its  truthful  accusations.    Men  blasphemed 

The  Power  from  whence  these  retributions  streamed ; 

For  memories  like  a  pelting  hailstorm  bruised 

Their  souls  thus  mercilessly  self-accused.  1360 

The  Great  Illusion 

One  of  the  seven  Gods  who  poured  the  dread  XVII.  i 

Drink-offerings  then  came  to  me  and  said : 

"Come  hither,  and  behold  the  judgment  just 

Of  that  foul  wanton  with  insatiate  lust 

Who  sits  enthroned,  the  queen  of  revelry,  1365 

Upon  the  many  waters  of  the  sea. 


INITIATION  443 

With  her  the  kings  of  earth  have  sinned ;  and  all  2 

The  dwellers  on  the  earth  are  in  the  thrall 

Of  her  unclean  delusions,  and  are  drunk 

With  frenzy,  and  in  filthy  orgies  sunk."  1370 

In  sacred  trance  he  carried  me  away  3 

Into  the  desert  on  whose  marge  the  spray 

Sullenly  dashes  from  the  sombre  sea ; 

The  wanton  Goddess  there  I  saw,  and  she 

Was  seated  on  the  scarlet-colored  Beast,  1375 

Ten-horned  and  seven-lieaded,  as  the  priest 

Whose  impious  rantings  all  mankind  persuade 

To  worship  Lust.    The  Goddess  was  arrayed  4 

In  royal  purple  and  bright  scarlet,  hemmed 

With  wiry  gold,  and  dazzlingly  begemmed.  1380 

A  golden  wine-cup,  filled  with  nauseous  things — 

Her  wicked  worshippers'  vile  offerings — 

She  held  to  view,  exulting  in  her  shame ; 

And  on  her  forehead  there  was  writ  a  name :  5 

"A  Mystery:  The  Haunted  City — queen  1385 

And  'IMighty  Mother,'  whom  with  rites  obscene 

The  temple-women  worship,  and  who  fills 

The  earth  with  misery  and  myriad  ills." 

I  saw  the  Goddess  drunken  with  the  fumes  6 

Of  blood  poured  out  at  human  hecatombs  1390 

By  brutal  priests  who,  lost  to  love  and  ruth, 

Slaughter  the  Seers  and  witnesses  of  truth. 

I  gazed  at  her  with  horror  and  amaze, 

And  said  to  me  the  God  :  "Why  do  you  gaze  7 

With  wonder  at  the  Goddess  ?    Unto  you  1395 

I  shall  reveal  the  mystery  of  these  two. 

The  Goddess  and  the  Dragon  she  bestrides — 

The  seven-headed,  ten-horned  Beast  she  rides. 

The  Beast  is  but  a  glamour  of  the  past ;  8 

He  's  non-existent,  and  with  shadows  classed :  1400 

And  soon  from  Lust's  abysmal  realm  of  woe 

He  shall  come  up,  and  to  destruction  go. 


444  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  mortals  impotent  to  rise  above 

The  sense-perceptions  they  so  fondly  love — 

Whose  names  the  .Self  Eternal  has  not  traced  1405 

Upon  his  book  of  life  since  first  was  placed 

On  its  foundations  the  vast  universe — 

Shall  wonder  at  the  Beast,  and  oft  rehearse  ^ 

This  puzzling-  question,  While  his  past  is  clear. 

If  non-existent  now,  how  comes  he  here  ?  1410 

Turn  from  the  lower  mind  that  nothing-  knows  9 

To  the  eternal  mind  whence  wisdom  flows : 

Cease  with  the  senses  limpingly  to  plod. 

And  tread  on  aether  like  the  winged  God. 

Hear,  now,  the  mystery :  the  seven  heads,  141 5 

With  which  the  Beast  o'er  seven  earth-lives  spreads, 

Are  seven  mountains,  each  of  them  a  throne 

On  which  the  Goddess  sits  and  rules  alone. 

Now,  there  are  seven  kings,  to  whom  by  right  10 

The  thrones  belong,  and  who  undaunted  fight  1420 

Against  the  Goddess ;  and  of  these  the  five 

Are  fallen,  while  the  sixth  is  now  alive ; 

And  when  the  seventh,  yet  unborn,  appears, 

He  shall  continue  but  a  few  short  years. 

The  Beast— the  Present  by  the  Past  enthralled—  1 1        1425 

Though  non-existent,  is  by  mystics  called 

The  eighth,  the  shadow  of  the  seven  kings. 

And  him  the  Future  to  destruction  brings. 

His  ten  great  horns  are  also  kings,  to  whom  12 

No  realm  has  yet  been  given,  but  who  assume  1430 

The  Beast's  authority,  and  wield  his  power. 

Each  reigning  with  him  for  but  one  short  hour. 

They  have,  united  in  a  single  mind,  13 

Their  right  and  power  to  the  Beast  assigned ; 

And  they  shall  join  their  forces  with  the  foe  14       1435 

Whom  the  all-conquering  Lamb  shall  overthrow  : 

For  he  is  King  of  kings,  exalted  high 

Above  the  very  Gods ;  and  each  ally. 


INITIATION  445 

Whate'er  his  rank,  who  may  the  Lamb  sustain 

With  him  shall  conquer,  and  with  him  shall  reign.  1440 

Now,  as  to  that  wave-swept,  tear-salted  sea  15 

Where  reigns  the  Goddess  swaying  drunkenly : 

Its  many  waters  are  the  souls  combined 

To  form  the  total  of  profane  mankind, 

Souls  immature,  who  scorn  fair  Wisdom's  gift,  I445 

And  on  the  tide  of  life  supinely  drift. 

Ruled  by  the  baser  forces  of  desire — 

The  Beast  with  his  ten  horns  of  ruddy  fire.  16 

But  these  shall  yet  the  wanton  Goddess  hate, 

Rebel  against  her,  and  make  desolate  1450 

The  mural-crowned  Queen,  and  her  shall  strip 

Of  all  her  robes  of  dainty  workmanship ; 

Herself  they  shall  consume  as  on  a  pyre. 

Burning  her  body  with  their  subtile  fire. 

For  the  Eternal  Self  their  hearts  imbued  17       1455 

With  his  design  for  the  infinitude, 

That  they  should  be  of  one  accord,  and  give 

Their  kingdom  to  the  Wild-beast  primitive 

Till  man,  instructed  in  the  sacred  lore. 

Shall  wisdom  gain,  and  Time  shall  be  no  more.  1460 

The  mural-crowned  Goddess,  who  with  crime  18 

And  sin  is  crimsoned,  is  the  Bride  of  Time : 

'Great  City  of  Illusion'  she  is  styled 

By  those  no  longer  by  her  charms  beguiled. 

And  on  the  earth,  to  its  remotest  bounds,  1465 

All  humankind  her  blood-stained  realm  surrounds." 

The  Rejoicing  over  the  Fall  of  the  City  of  Illusion 

These  mystery-teachings  drawing  to  an  end,  XVIII.  i 

I  saw  a  second  God  from  heaven  descend, 

The  Warrior-God  whom  valiant  heroes  praise, 

And  whose  red  glory  sets  the  world  ablaze.  1470 

His  voice  rang  out  in  triumph,  like  the  shout  2 

Of  phalanxed  hosts  who  put  the  foe  to  rout : 


446  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"She  fell !    The  mighty  Haunted  City  fell ; 

And  now  within  her  crumbling  ruins  dwell 

Dread  ghouls  and  all  the  evil  spirits  gray,  1475 

And  every  foul  and  loathsome  bird  of  prey. 

For  all  mankind  her  wine  of  lust  have  drunk,  3 

And  now  in  senseless  orgies  they  are  sunk ; 

The  kings  of  earth  she  plunged  in  lustful  mire; 

Its  merchants  prosper  through  her  foul  desire."  1480 

A  third  voice  cried  from  the  supernal  Air :  4 

"Come  forth,  my  people,  out  of  her,  nor  share 

Her  crimson  sins ;  else  share  without  demur 

The  retribution  meted  out  to  her. 

Her  sins,  heaped  up  in  many  ages  past,  5       1485 

As  high  as  heaven's  azure  dome  are  massed ; 

And  every  evil  deed,  or  small  or  great. 

Is  written  in  the  faultless  book  of  Fate. 

Repay  her,  e'en  as  she  herself  repaid,  6 

With  double  measure,  as  her  deeds  are  weighed  :  1490 

When  she  her  cup  of  pleasure's  wine  would  drain 

Add  equal  measure  of  the  wine  of  pain ; 

And  turn  her  self-conceit  and  joyance  brief  7 

To  self-analysis  and  lasting  grief. 

For  thus  she  boasts,  in  her  unspoken  thought :  1495 

T  sit  enthroned  a  queen,  and  I  am  not 

Dead  Time's  unworthy  widow ;  pain  and  woe 

Are  things  my  happy  heart  shall  never  know.' 

Her,  therefore,  Retribution  shall  repay  8 

With  hunger,  grief  and  death  in  one  short  day,  1500 

And  she  by  funeral  fire  shall  be  consumed. 

By  that  resistless  Power  now  justly  doomed. 

The  mortals  who  are  deemed  the  kings  of  earth —  9 

Though  slaves  to  her  voluptuous  charms  and  mirth — 

From  her  shall  flee ;  and  sadly  looking  back  1505 

Upon  the  smoke  uprolling  dense  and  black 

From  her  dread  pyre,  and  standing  far  away  10 

For  fear  of  her  cremation,  thev  shall  sav: 


INITIATION  447 

*AIas,  thou  Haunted  City,  strong  and  great ! 

For  thus  in  one  brief  hour  has  come  thy  fate.'  1510 

Earth's  merchants,  fleeing  from  the  city's  bourn,  1 1 

O'er  her  shall  shed  fast-falHng  tears  and  mourn, 

For  no  one  now  shall  purchase  at  their  hands 

Their  costly  cargoes  brought  from  many  lands : 

Their  stock  of  varied  gold  and  silver  ware,  12       1 5 1 5 

Or  things  for  use  or  ornaments  with  rare 

And  precious  stones  and  pearls  of  goodly  size; 

Fine  linen,  silk,  cloths  hued  with  richest  dyes ; 

Vessels  of  iron,  bronze  and  marble  made. 

Of  rarest  wood  and  ivory  inlaid;  1520 

All  thuja-wood;  and  every  condiment,  13 

Unguent  and  incense  from  the  Orient ; 

Wine,  oil,  fine  wheaten  flour  and  golden  grain ; 

Sheep,  cattle ;  horses,  patient  beasts  that  strain 

To  draw  great  wagons  with  neck-chafing  poles,  1525 

And  human  bodies — yea,  and  hiiuian  souls! 

(Now  is  the  fruitage  of  thy  soul's  desire  14 

To  ashes  turned  by  crematory  fire ; 

From  thee  all  bright  and  brilliant  charms  have  fled : 

None  finds  them  in  the  ashes  of  the  dead.)  1530 

The  merchants  bringing  these  commodities  15 

In  hollow  ships  from  lands  beyond  the  seas, 

Who  by  their  traffic  with  the  scarlet  witch 

Grew  poor  in  morals  but  in  money  rich. 

Shall  stand  far  off  through  fear  of  that  red  blaze,  1535 

And  shedding  tears  shall  thus  their  sad  cry  raise:  16 

'Alas,  the  wealthy  city,  beautified 

By  gorgeous  robes  with  royal  colors  dyed 

And  all  with  jewels,  pearls  and  gold  inwrought ! 

In  one  brief  hour  such  wealth  has  come  to  naught'  17       1540 

The  captains  and  the  sailors,  all  who  gain 

Wages  by  toiling  on  the  stormy  main, 

Far  off  shall  stand  and  shall  bemoan  the  doom 

Of  her  whom  now  the  smoke-veiled  flames  consume, 


448  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  they  shall  say : 'What  city  can  compare  18        1545 

With  her,  the  city  gem-adorned  and  fair?' 

And  hiinibled  to  the  dust,  with  streaming  eyes,  19 

They  shall  exclaim,  between  their  mournful  cries: 

'Alas,  the  opulent  city  by  the  sea, 

Whose  bounteous  hand  poured  riches  lavishly  1550 

On  all  ship-owners  bringing  costly  freight ! 

For  in  one  hour  is  she  made  desolate.'  20 

Rejoice  o'er  her,  thou  all-beholding  Sky, 

Ye  sages,  saints  and  seers;  for  God  on  high 

Has  paid  the  scarlet  Wanton,  as  her  due,  1555 

The  fiery  death  that  she  dealt  out  to  you." 

A  God,  among  the  Gods  for  strength  renowned.  21 

The  mighty  millstone  grasped  by  which  are  ground 

The  destinies  of  men,  and  it  he  hurled 

Far  out  to  sea,  and  cried  unto  the  world :  1 560 

"By  such  a  feat  of  strength  shall  be  o'erthrown 

The  Haunted  City  which  the  Gods  disown. 

And  like  the  stone  that  to  the  waves  was  tossed 

Shall  she  pass  on  and  evermore  be  lost. 

O  Haunted  City,  ne'er  again  in  thee  22       1565 

Shall  sound  of  cithern  or  of  minstrelsy, 

The  mellow  notes  of  flutists,  or  the  blare 

Of  trumpeters  rejoice  the  vibrant  air; 

No  more  in  thee  shall  sturdy  craftsmen  toil. 

Or  weary  women  at  the  millstone  moil ;  1 570 

In  thee  no  lamp  shall  give  its  lambent  light,  22^ 

And  nevermore  shall  mystic  marriage-rite 

Thy  temple  gladden,  when  the  virgin  bride 

Is  given  to  the  bridegroom  sanctified. 

For  thy  ignoble  merchants  ruled  the  earth,  i575 

While  sordid  lucre  banished  all  true  worth, 

And  brutal  priests  in  maudlin  faiths  combined 

To  throw  a  sorcerer's  spell  o'er  all  mankind. 

In  her,  the  Haunted  City,  when  she  fell,  24 

There  oozed,  as  from  a  crimson-flowing  well,  1580 


INITIATION  449 

The  blood  of  saints,  philosophers  and  seers — 

All  such  as  Wisdom  loves  and  Falsehood  fears — 

For  earth  was  sodden  to  its  meanest  clod 

With  blood  of  martyrs  slain  for  Priestcraft's  God." 

Thus  did  the  Gods  denounce  that  scarlet  Queen ;         XIX.  i        1585 

And  then  a  countless  throng  in  heaven  serene, 

The  starry  choir  who  move  in  cosmic  dance, 

Sang- :  "Hail,  the  Victor !    The  deliverance, 

The  glory  and  the  power  are  his  who  reigns  2 

Supreme  o'er  all,  and  by  his  will  maintains  1590 

Eternal  truth  and  justice.    Sentence  just 

He  has  pronounced  upon  the  Queen  of  Lust, 

The  wanton  Goddess  who  with  wiles  obscene 

Seduced  the  earth  to  thoughts  and  deeds  unclean ; 

And,  adding  to  the  penalty  she  paid,  1595 

The  blood  of  all  his  martyred  saints  he  weighed." 

In  antiphon  the  hosts  of  earth  replied.  3 

For  thus  the  conquerors,  the  purified, 

Sang :  ''Hail,  the  Victor !    Through  the  aeons  rise 

Dense  clouds  of  smoke  where  that  foul  city  lies;  1600 

For  now  to  conflagration  justly  doomed 

She  by  avenging  flames  shall  be  consumed." 

The  twice-twelve  Ancients  and  the  sacred  Four  4 

Bowed  down  in  lowly  posture  to  adore 

The  Self  Eternal  and  his  praise  intone:  1605 

^'0}n.    Hail,  the  Victor !"     From  the  golden  throne  5 

Rang  out  the  voice  of  God's  chief  glorifier. 

The  sun-rayed  leader  of  the  cosmic  choir: 

"Praise  ye  our  God,  all  ye  his  devotees, 

Both  young  and  old,  who  honor  his  decrees."  1610 

As  when  the  deep,  stirred  to  the  uttermost,  6 

Hurls  roaring  breakers  on  a  rock-bound  coast. 

Or  echoed  thunders,  pealing  far  and  near, 

With  mighty  music  flood  the  atmosphere. 

So  pealed  sublimely  that  great  choral  song  161 5 

As  all  the  numberless  exultant  throng- 


450  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Sang :  "Hail,  the  Victor !    For  the  Lord  of  Light 

Now  reigns  supreme  with  universal  might. 

Let  joy  ecstatic  every  soul  enthrall,  7 

And  let  us  glorify  the  Self  of  All :  1620 

For  now  with  mystic  rites  is  ratified 

The  marriage  of  the  Lamb.    His  virgin  bride 

Waits,  veiled  in  vesture  lustrous,  pearly-pure,  8 

A  wondrous  fabric  woven  by  her  wooer 

With  warp  and  woof  of  loving  deed  and  thought;  1625 

And  in  its  texture,  intimately  wrought. 

Are  all  the  great  and  little  things  of  worth 

Achieved  by  him  in  myriad  lives  on  earth." 

The  radiant  Chorus-leader  said  to  me :  9 

"Write:  Blessed  are  the  holy  company  1630 

Rejoicing  with  the  Lamb,  for  whom  is  spread 

The  marriage- feast."    Again  to  me  he  said : 

"These  secret  teachings  unto  you  made  known 

Are  truths  divine."    Before  him  I  fell  prone,  10 

To  worship  him.     Said  he:  "Thus  do  not  do;  1635 

I  am  but  fellow-servitor  with  you 

And  with  your  brothers  in  the  sacred  lore. 

Who  follow  Wisdom.    God  alone  adore. 

For  know,  the  witness  to  which  Seers  appeal 

None  save  the  Breath  supernal  can  reveal."  1640 

VI.     THE  FINAL  CONQUEST,  AND  THE  REIGN  OF 
ETERNAL  JUSTICE 

The  Conqueror,  the  Solar  Self 

The  portal  of  the  sky  swung  open :  lo,  li 

Rode  forth  upon  a  horse  pure-white  as  snow 

The  Conqueror — the  Witness  of  the  True, 

The  Judge  infallible,  the  Warrior  who 

Knows  not  defeat  or  failure,  and  the  Seer  12       1645 

Whose  starry  eyes  see  all  things  far  and  near. 


INITIATION  451 

Upon  his  brow,  where  banded  jewels  shone. 

Was  writ  a  name  known  to  himself  alone. 

His  robes,  blood-cleansed,  are  all  of  aether  wrought,         13 

And  he  is  called  "Divine  Creative  Thought."  1650 

The  warriors  in  the  sky,  of  wondrous  deeds,  14 

All  rode  behind  him  on  their  milk-white  steeds, 

Arrayed  in  finest  linen,  pure  and  white. 

His  mouth  outbreathes  a  sword  of  flame,  to  smite  15 

The  miscreants  who  abuse  the  power  which  God  1655 

Has  given  man :  to  them  his  golden  rod 

Shall  be  as  iron,  dealing  deadly  blows. 

'T  is  he  who  treads  the  wine-vat  whence  outflows 

The  force  that  fashions  in  supernal  mould 

The  deathless  solar  form  of  living  gold ;  1660 

And  on  his  mantle,  on  the  Scorpion-zone,  16 

This  legend,  writ  in  flaming  letters,  shone  : 

"He  who  was  man,  of  mortal  parents  sprung. 

Is  now  reborn  the  deathless  Gods  among; 

Greater  than  they,  more  glorious  than  the  sun,  1665 

Is  this  self-conqueror,  this  mighty  one !" 

The  Hall  of  Time,  and  the  Banquet  on  the  Slain  Remnants 

of  the  Past 

I  saw  a  God,  my  serpent-sceptred  Guide,  17 

Now  standing  in  the  sun.    He  loudly  cried 

To  all  the  birds  that  in  the  mid-heaven  fly 

Seeking  intently  carrion  to  descry :  1670 

"The  Hall  of  Time  is  filled  with  offerings; 

His  banquet  waits :  devour  the  flesh  of  kings,  18 

The  flesh  of  generals,  of  warriors  brave, 

Riders  and  steeds,  and  all  men  free  and  slave, 

Both  young  and  old ;  a  generous  feast  is  spread.  1675 

Flock  to  the  banquet,  and  devour  the  dead." 

I  saw  the  Beast  and  earth's  deluded  kings,  19 

With  their  embattled  hosts  of  underlings, 


452  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Assembled  all  to  wage  relentless  war 

Against  the  army  of  the  Conqueror.  1680 

The  Beast  was  captured,  with  the  Pseudo-seer  20 

Who  in  his  presence  made  false  signs  appear, 

With  which  the  credulous  mortals  he  deceived 

Who  had  the  Beast's  red  brand  of  shame  received, 

And  who  adored  his  Image.    And  these  two  1685 

Into  the  sulphurous  lake  of  fire  they  threw, 

Where  they,  alive,  in  burning  sulphur  seethed. 

And  by  the  magic  sword  by  him  outbreathed  21 

Who  rode  the  milk-wdiite  steed  the  rest  w^ere  killed ; 

And  with  their  flesh  the  prey-birds  all  were  filled.  1690 

Zeus  Chains  the  Evil  Serpent  and  Hurls  Him  into  the 
Tartarean  Abyss 

I  saw^  descending  where  the  sky-vault  slopes  XX.  i 

The  God  who  holds  the  key  that  shuts  and  opes 

The  dread  abyss,  Apollyon's  domain  ; 

And  in  his  hand  he  held  a  massive  chain. 

He  seized  the  Dragon — that  old  Serpent-God,  2       1695 

Who  slanders  him  who  bears  the  serpent-rod. 

Aping  his  sacred  rites  with  rites  uncouth, 

And  who  is  e'er  the  enemy  of  truth — 

And  having  for  a  thousand  years  bound  fast 

The  foul  and  furious  monster,  him  he  cast  3       1700 

Down  into  the  abyss,  and  locked  and  sealed 

Its  gate  above  him,  that  he  should  not  wield 

His  baneful  powers  and  thus  delude  mankind 

Until  the  term  for  wdiich  he  was  confined. 

The  thousand  years,  should  end ;  and  then  indeed  1705 

The  arch-deluder  must  awhile  be  freed. 

The  Temporary  Bliss  of  the  Disincarnated  Soul 

Then  saw  I  thrones  innumerable,  one  4 

For  each  earth-life  whose  course  the  soul  had  run: 


INITIATION  453 

The  disembodied  soul,  or  pure  or  base, 

Its  righteous  Judge,  the  throned  Self,  must  face.  1710 

I  saw  the  souls  of  them  who  had  been  slain 

Because,  despite  the  priests,  they  dared  maintain 

Man's  rightful  Godhood  and  the  sacred  lore, 

Also  the  souls  who  would  not  bow  before 

The  Wild-beast  and  his  Image,  nor  allow  171 5 

His  crimson  brand  upon  their  hand  or  brow. 

These  wise  and  valiant  souls  to  life  returned 

And  with  the  Self  a  thousand  years  sojourned; 

But  all  the  souls  of  the  ignoble  herd,  5 

Who  had  the  false  before  the  true  preferred,  1720 

Continued  dormant  in  the  psychic  spheres 

Throughout  the  period  of  a  thousand  years. 

This  is  the  first  awakening  from  the  dead 

Of  souls  that  e'er  the  path  of  wisdom  tread. 

Eternal  bliss  is  his  whose  part  is  sure  6       1 725 

In  this  first  resurrection  :  for  the  pure, 

Restored  to  life  by  the  supernal  Breath, 

No  more  are  menaced  by  the  second  death, 

But,  sharing  the  One  Life  and  lore  arcane, 

They  with  the  Self  the  thousand  years  shall  reign,  ^73^ 

And  when  the  thousand  years  have  duly  ceased,  7 

The  Serpent,  from  his  prison  then  released, 

Shall  issue  forth,  the  nations  to  delude  8 

Which  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth  include, 

To  muster  them  for  final  deadly  strife  I735 

Against  the  all-victorious  Lord  of  Life. 

As  sea-sand  countless,  those  dark  forces  sped ;  9 

Their  battle-line  o'er  all  the  w  ide  earth  spread. 

And  thus  outflanked  and  hemmed  on  every  side 

The  lesser  army  of  the  purified,  1740 

Surrounding  utterly  with  fearful  odds 

The  sacred  city  cherished  by  the  Gods. 

Then  on  that  evil  host  the  Gods  rained  fire. 

Consuming  them  as  on  a  blazing  pyre. 


454  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  dark  Deliider,  the  archaic  Snake,  lo       1745 

Was  banished  to  the  dread  fire-flaming  lake, 
To  join  the  Wild-beast  and  the  Pseudo-seer, 
Punished  for  aeons  in  that  dismal  sphere. 

The  Final  Judgment,  and  Complete  Purification 

Then  in  prophetic  vision  I  was  shown  1 1 

The  Self  Eternal  on  his  great  white  throne :  1750 

And  earth  and  sky,  fleeing  before  his  face, 

Vanished  in  the  immensity  of  space. 

I  saw  the  dead,  alike  the  young  and  old,  12 

Standing  before  the  throne,  with  scrolls  unrolled, 

Their  books  of  life,  wherein  the  Self  might  read  1755 

The  record  of  their  every  thought  and  deed. 

The  Lamb's  great  Book  of  Life  was  opened :  vast 

Was  there  the  record  of  his  age-long  past. 

And  by  this  record  of  each  deed  and  thought 

The  dead,  arisen,  were  to  judgment  brought.  1760 

Then  from  its  murky  depths  the  moaning  sea  13 

Gave  up  its  dead  ;  earth  set  her  captives  free, 

And  from  the  dismal  realm  of  Plouton  fled 

The  wailing  shades  of  the  unworthy  dead ; 

And  each  received,  according  to  his  deeds,  1765 

The  weal  or  woe  that  every  action  breeds. 

The  world  of  death  and  realm  of  torment  dire  14 

Were  thrown  into  the  flaming  lake  of  fire : 

This  is  the  second  death,  the  lake  of  flame ; 

If  one  were  found  unworthy,  and  his  name  15        1770 

Appeared  not  in  the  Life-book  of  the  world. 

He  into  that  fire-flaming  lake  was  hurled. 

VIL     THE  MYSTIC  CITY,  THE  SOLAR  BODY 

The  Conqueror  Inherits  the  Spiritual  Universe 

The  sky  I  now  beheld  was  new,  and  new  XXI.  i 

The  radiant  earth  that  now  was  spread  to  view. 


INITIATION  455 

The  olden  sky  and  earth  had  passed  away,  1775 

And  the  vast  sea  had  disappeared  for  aye. 

The  new-buih  city  (the  divine  abode  2 

Upon  the  white-robed  Conqueror  bestowed) 

Came  down  from  heaven,  Hke  a  beauteous  bride 

Adorned  to  meet  the  bridegroom  eager-eyed.  1780 

Then  from  the  throne  a  voice  of  thunder  said :  3 

"Behold,  o'er  all  humanity  is  spread 

The  wondrous  temple  of  the  Self  Divine; 

And  he,  the  God  of  All,  shall  have  his  shrine 

Within  the  hearts  of  men,  and  they  shall  be  1785 

True  Sons  of  God,  from  sin  and  sorrow  free: 

Clear-eyed,  serene  and  free  from  death  are  they  4 

When  all  gross  elements  have  passed  away." 

And  unto  me  he  said :  "Lo,  with  a  new  5 

And  nobler  scheme  of  worlds  I  now  bestrew  1790 

Eternal  Space."    Again  he  said :  "Now  write, 

These  Mystery-teachings,  holy,  recondite. 

Are  credible  and  true."    And  yet  again  6 

He  said  to  me :  "Among  the  sons  of  men 

One  more,  reborn,  is  vestured  with  the  sun ;  ^795 

But  I,  who  am  the  Seven  Sounds  in  One, 

Unborn,  undying,  am  the  living  source 

Whence  all  proceed  upon  their  cyclic  course ; 

And  all  the  souls  that  sacred  wisdom  quest 

To  me  return  and  in  my  bosom  rest.  1800 

To  him  who  thirsts  for  wisdom,  and  would  live 

Among  the  blest  Immortals,  I  shall  give 

Water  of  Life  from  my  exhaustless  fount; 

And  he,  the  Conqueror,  who  shall  surmount  7 

The  barrier  of  desire,  earth's  primal  curse,  1805 

Shall  win  this  new  and  wondrous  universe ; 

And  I  shall  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be 

My  Son,  who  shares  its  jewelled  throne  with  me. 

But  dastards,  hating  Wisdom's  way,  who  shirk  8 

Life's  nobler  duties  and  the  sacred  work,  18 10 


456  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

They  who  are  moral  stenches,  murderers, 

They  whom  no  sense  of  shame  from  kist  deters, 

Dealers  in  magic  arts  and  phallic  rites, 

Idolaters,  and  all  the  worthless  wights 

Who  love  untruth  and  speak  with  lying  breath,  1815 

Their  fate  shall  suffer  in  the  second  death— 

The  burning  sulphurous  lake  where  disappears 

The  refuse  of  the  generative  spheres." 

Hermes  Reveals  the  Mysteries  of  the  Sacred  City 

Then  came  to  me  the  gracious  God  who  wears  9 

Winged  sandals,  and  the  golden  sceptre  bears  1820 

With  serpents  twined;  the  sixth  was  he  of  those 

Who  erst  poured  out  the  seven  final  woes. 

He  said  to  me :  "Come  hither ;  I,  your  guide, 

Shall  show  you  now  the  Lamb's  resplendent  Bride." 

And  to  the  lofty  mountain  which  is  zoned  10       1825 

By  twelve  great  peaks  whereon  the  Gods  are  throned 

He  bore  me  through  the  aether,  and  there  showed 

To  me  the  City,  the  divine  abode, 

Descending  from  the  pure  aethereal  height. 

Wrapped  in  the  Self's  bright  glory  as  her  light,  1 1        1830 

A  sphere  of  opalescence,  crystal-clear: 

This  is  the  city's  wall,  the  shining  sphere,  12 

Having  twelve  portals  and  a  mighty  guard 

Of  twelve  great  Gods  who  there  keep  watch  and  ward. 

And  o'er  these  portals,  where  the  light  outshines,  1835 

Are  writ  the  names  of  twelve  celestial  signs : 

Three  portals  faced  the  east,  and  thus  the  rest  13 

In  triads  faced  the  north,  the  south,  the  west. 

The  wall  had  twelve  foundations,  firmly  placed  14 

On  twelve  great  segments  in  the  sether  traced,  1840 

And  on  them  names  were  written  to  record 

The  twelve  Companions  of  the  Solar  Lord 

My  loved  hierophant,  the  Herald-God,  15 

Using  his  sceptre  for  a  measuring-rod, 


INITIATION  457 

Measured  the  city,  and  its  gates  and  wall.  1845 

The  city  is  extended  foursquare ;  all  16 

Its  three  dimensions,  length,  and  breadth,  and  height, 

Are  equal :  with  his  golden  sceptre  bright 

He  measured  them  in  furlongs  maximum. 

Twelve  thousand  furlongs,  but  in  miles  the  sum  1850 

Would  be  one  thousand  and  six  hundred ;  next  17 

The  wall  he  measured,  and  my  mind  perplexed 

By  adding  to  the  sum  the  Man  Divine — 

Cubits  one  hundred  forty-four,  in  fine. 

The  city's  wall  was  its  transparent  sphere,  18       1855 

Like  opal,  many-colored,  bright  and  clear ; 

And  all  the  city  was  a  shining  mass 

Of  purest  gold,  transparent,  as  't  were  glass. 

The  wall's  foundations  were  adorned  with  gems  19 

Of  divers  hues,  like  regal  diadems :  i860 

The  first  was  opal,  showing  every  hue ; 

The  second,  lapis-lazuli,  rich  blue ; 

The  third,  chalcedony,  of  blue-gray  sheen; 

The  fourth  was  emerald,  of  bluish-green ; 

The  fifth,  sardonyx,  white  with  red  o'erspread  ;  20       1865 

The  sixth,  carnelian,  of  a  clear,  bright  red; 

The  seventh,  chrysolite,  of  golden  tint ; 

The  eighth  was  beryl,  of  a  yellow  glint ; 

The  ninth  was  topaz,  like  the  sun's  gold  rays ; 

The  tenth  was  greenish-golden  chrysoprase ;  1870 

Of  sapphire  the  eleventh,  azure  blue ; 

The  twelfth  was  amethyst,  of  violet  hue. 

Its  portals  twelve  of  lustrous  pearls  were  made —  21 

Each  of  a  single  pearl.    A  street  was  laid 

Lengthways  the  city,  and  this  noble  street —  1875 

A  sacred  highway  whereupon  no  feet 

Save  those  of  gift-bestowing  kings  might  pass — 

Was  paved  with  gold,  transparent  like  clear  glass. 

Nowhere  in  all  the  city  did  I  see  22 

A  fane  where  worshippers  might  bow  the  knee:  1880 


458  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  Self  Supreme  to  whom  all  powers  pertain 

And  the  divine  Star-shepherd  are  its  fane. 

The  city  had  no  need  of  sun  or  moon  23 

Bestowing,  as  on  earth,  their  measured  boon : 

For  the  ensphering  glory  of  its  wall  1885 

With  ceaseless  light  illuminated  all. 

And  in  its  midst  the  Lamb's  effulgent  throne, 

As  't  were  a  brilliant  lamp,  irradiant  shone ; 

And  by  the  light  these  luminaries  shed  24 

The  four  great  castes  their  peaceful  pathways  tread;  1890 

While  into  it  the  kings  of  earth  shall  bring 

Their  fourfold  glory  as  an  offering. 

Its  portals  never  shall  be  closed  by  day,  25 

And  night  shall  nevermore  have  dusky  sway. 

And  there  the  kings  who  rule  the  orient  26       1 895 

Shall  bring  the  glory  and  rich  offerings  sent 

By  subjects  of  their  four  great  realms  defined 

By  these  distinctive  castes  among  mankind. 

No  impious  outcast  e'er  shall  enter  in,  27 

Or  any  foul  mendacious  slave  of  sin,  1900 

But  only  they,  exempt  from  sin  and  strife, 

Whose  names  are  in  the  Self's  great  scroll  of  life. 

To  me  the  God-hierophant  then  showed  XXII.  i 

A  silvery  river-channel,  wherein  flowed 

Water  of  life,  a  flashing  crystal  stream  1905 

Outwelling  from  the  throne  of  the  Supreme 

And  of  the  Lamb,  and  coursing  pure  and  sweet 

Along  the  middle  of  the  golden  street.  2 

And  on  the  river's  near  and  further  shore 

Towered  the  twofold  tree  of  life,  which  bore  1910 

Twelve  kinds  of  fruit,  each  month  a  different  fruit ; 

The  ruling  Gods  gave  each  its  attribute ; 

And  on  its  leaves,  in  wTiting,  were  outlined 

The  sacred  doctrines  that  can  save  mankind. 

The  power  generant,  earth's  primal  curse,  3       191 5 

Shall  have  no  place  in  that  new  universe : 


INITIATION 


459 


The  throne  of  the  Supreme  and  of  the  sweet 

And  lovely  Shepherd  with  the  winged  feet 

Shall  be  the  centre  of  that  radiant  sphere, 

Where  devotees  the  Self  of  All  revere.  1920 

And  face  to  face  his  glory  they  shall  see,  4 

While  on  their  brow  his  name  shines  dazzlingly. 

O'er  them,  his  worshippers,  the  shades  of  night  5 

Shall  never  fall ;  and  they  shall  need  no  light 

Of  lamp  or  sun,  for  they  in  truth  shall  gain  19-25 

The  light  eternal,  and  fore'er  shall  reign. 

He  said  to  me :  "Believable  and  true  6 

Are  these  most  holy  IMysteries  taught  to  you : 

The  Self  Supreme,  from  the  ^ethereal  spheres 

Of  sacred  forces  reverenced  by  the  Seers,  1930 

Sent  me,  the  Guide  of  Souls  on  wisdom's  way, 

To  show  weak  mortals,  vestured  in  decay — 

Who  have,  but  use  not,  my  enchanted  rod — 

The  perfect  rites  that  make  of  man  a  God. 

On  winged  feet  I  come.    Immortal  he,  1935 

Whate'er  his  color  or  his  cult  may  be,  7 

W^ho,  heeding  well  these  teachings,  can  control 

The  sacred  forces  set  forth  in  this  scroll." 

Now,  I  who  write  this  scroll  am  he  who  saw  8 

And  heard  these  Mysteries ;  overcome  with  awe  1940 

When  I  had  seen  and  heard,  I  fell  before 

The  winged  feet  of  him  whose  heavenly  lore 

Had  been  revealed,  to  worship  him,  my  Guide 

Upon  the  path  the  Gods  have  glorijfied ; 

But  said  the  God-hierophant  to  me:  9       1945 

"Nay ;  do  not  so  :  for  I,  alike  with  thee, 

And  with  your  brother-seers,  and  all  who  strive 

To  keep  the  holy  Mysteries  alive, 

Am  but  a  minor  Power  before  the  throne 

Of  the  Eternal.    Worship  God  alone."  1950 

Again  he  said  to  me :  "Hide  not  from  men  10 

The  mysteries  of  seership  which  your  pen 


46o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Has  written  in  this  scroll ;  for  unto  some 

The  mystic  Springtime  of  the  soul  is  come. 

He  who  has  not  attuned  his  heart  and  mind  ii        1955 

To  the  o'ershadowing  Soul  of  all  mankind, 

And  yet  within  his  selfish  heart  aspires 

To  wield  the  sacred  powers  and  solar  fires, 

Will  only  rouse  within  his  psychic  life 

The  elements  of  discord  and  of  strife ;  i960 

And  so  of  one  impure  :  his  rash  attempt 

Him  from  his  lusts  and  sins  shall  not  exempt. 

But  he  who  seeks  true  harmony,  and  makes 

His  heart  both  pure  and  selfless,  thus  awakes 

The  holy  Power  through  which  the  child  of  earth,  1965 

Divinely  quickened,  gains  the  solar  birth. 

On  winged  feet  I  come,  and  bring  the  wage  12 

That  man  has  earned  in  his  incarnate  stage, 

To  pay  to  each  e'en  as  his  work  may  be. 

The  seven  sounding  vowels  tell  of  me:  13       1970 

I  lived  eternal  ere  the  dawn  of  time, 

And  I  am  Man  in  his  immortal  prime, 

The  first  and  last  in  Being's  boundless  whole, 

The  source  of  life,  and  life's  eternal  goal. 

Eternal  bliss  is  theirs  who  cleanse  with  care  14       1975 

Their  raiment,  so  that  radiant  and  fair, 

And  strengthened  by  the  power  of  purity, 

They  may  the  fruit  of  Life's  all-healing  tree 

Obtain,  and  thus  the  sacred  city  win, 

And  through  its  pearly  portals  enter  in.  1980 

Without  the  city  ever  must  remain  15 

The  beast-like  souls  that  bear  the  filthy  stain 

Of  nameless  vice,  the  sorcerers,  the  rakes 

Who  live  for  lust,  the  men  in  whom  awakes 

The  fire  of  murder  foul,  the  worshippers  1985 

Of  phantoms,  and  whoever  still  prefers 

Falsehood  to  truth,  and  would  with  priestly  guile 

Delude  mankind  with  fables  puerile. 


INITIATION  461 

The  Sunlike  Self  sent  down  to  earth  from  heaven  16 

The  Mystery-teacher  of  the  sacred  seven.  1990 

A  Son  of  God  am  I,  born  from  above, 

Thy  Self  Divine,  and  star  of  primal  Love." 

The  Breath  supernal  and  the  mystic  Bride  17 

Are  saying,  "Come."    Let  him  who  has  descried 

The  sacred  truths  which  the  initiates  share  1995 

Repeat  the  summons,  "Come."    Let  come  whoe'er 

For  wisdom  thirsts ;  and  him,  whoe'er  would  fain 

Drink  at  the  living  fount,  let  none  restrain. 

To  every  one  whose  eager  soul  has  caught  18 

The  secret  truths  which  in  this  scroll  are  taught  2000 

I  here  bear  witness.    But  should  one  whose  pen 

Is  dipped  in  falsehood,  to  beguile  all  men, 

Add  to  these  words,  he  adds  to  his  dark  soul 

The  retributions  written  in  this  scroll ; 

Or  should  he  wickedly  blot  out  from  it  19       2005 

The  sacred  truths  that  in  the  scroll  are  writ, 

Him  the  great  Self  Eternal  will  disclaim, 

And  from  the  Book  of  Life  blot  out  his  name. 

That  ne'er  the  holy  city  he  may  win. 

Or  share  the  mystic  rites  portrayed  herein.  2010 

"Yea,"  saith  the  Witness  of  this  heavenly  theme,  20 

The  sceptred  Guardian  of  Truth's  living  stream, 

"On  winged  feet  I  come."    Out.    Come,  great  Lord ; 

And  bring  thy  loving  servants  their  reward. 

Now,  may  the  beauty  of  that  Self  Divine  21       2015 

On  all  his  devotees  forever  shine. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS 

INTRODUCTION 

Of  the  twenty-one  Epistles,  fourteen  are  attributed  in  the  author- 
ized version  to  Paulos,  and  the  authorship  of  the  others  is  credited 
to  certain  mythical  disciples  of  the  anthropomorphized  Sun-God. 
These  letters  contain  prophecies,  unfulfilled  and  never  to  be  fulfilled, 
of  the  second  coming-  of  lesous ;  and  they  give  an  unsystematic  pres- 
entation of  the  dreary  dog-mas  of  the  new  theology,  as  fabricated 
by  the  originators  of  the  historicized  version  of  the  solar  myths, 
interspersed  with  ideas  and  phrases  plagiarized  from  the  excellent 
writings  of  Philon  Judaios,  and  with  quotations  from,  and  refer- 
ences to,  the  Book  of  Enoch,  the  Ascension  of  Isaiah,  the  Assump- 
tion of  Moses,  and  other  apocryphal  works.  There  is  a  letter  from 
loudas,  "the  brother  of  lakobos"  (in  the  authorized  version  his 
name  is  artfully  Anglicized  as  "Jude,"  to  distinguish  him  from 
"Judas,"  the  traitor)  ;  and  there  is  also  a  letter  from  lakobos  him- 
self. This  lakobos,  according  to  the  lively  imagination  of  some 
authorities,  was  the  brother  of  lesous,  but  other  authorities  indulge 
the  fancy  that  he  was  the  "son  of  Alphaios" ;  other  authorities  con- 
jecture that  the  son  of  Alphaios  and  the  brother  of  lesous  were  one 
and  the  same  individual,  while  yet  other  authorities  maintain  that 
both  are  wholly  creatures  of  the  imagination  and  not  entitled  to  a 
place  in  history.  Comparing  Jude  6,  7,  8,  9,  11,  etc.,  with  II  Peter 
ii.  4,  6,  10,  II,  15,  etc.,  it  is  apparent  that  one  writer  plagiarized 
from  the  other.  Some  of  the  inspired  writers,  compilers  and  redac- 
tors were  as  lacking  in  the  virtue  of  literary  honesty  as  they  were 
deficient  in  the  sense  of  humor.  In  I  Peter  iv.  7  it  is  solemnly  stated 
that  "the  end  of  the  universe  is  at  hand."  Many  long  centuries  have 
elapsed  since  this  prophecy  was  penned  by  the  inspired  plagiarist, 
and  the  finger  of  time  scornfully  points  him  out  as  a  false  prophet. 
The  Second  Epistle  of  Joannes  is  addressed  in  the  vernacular  to 

462 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS  463 

"dear  Kyria" ;  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  writer  thus  designated  by 
her  proper  name  the  lady  of  his  choice  or  whether  the  word  Kyria 
is  to  be  taken  as  denoting  the  "mistress  of  the  house"  ;  but  it  is  quite 
certain  that  the  letter  itself  is  only  a  theologized  billet  d'amour.  The 
lady  is  warned  against  "vagabonds"  (planoi)  who  will  not  concede 
that  lesous  is  about  to  return  "in  the  flesh" ;  and  she  is  counselled 
not  to  extend  hospitality  to  sceptics  of  that  sort,  or  even  to  give 
them  civil  greeting,  because  any  one  who  speaks  courteously  to  a 
sceptic  "becomes  a  party  to  his  knavish  deeds."  The  fabricator  of 
the  other  two  letters  attributed  to  loannes  laboriously  imitates  the 
style  of,  and  plagiarizes  from,  the  Fourth  Gospel;  but  he  signally 
fails  to  conceal  his  own  bigotry  and  absurd  superstitions,  as  when 
he  says  that  "the  world  is  passing  away,"  that  "it  is  the  last  hour," 
and  that  "the  Antichrist  is  coming,"  because  "many  Antichrists  have 
arisen  even  now,  wherefore  we  knoiu  that  it  is  the  last  hour." 

The  Epistles  of  Paulos  are  entitled  to  more  serious  consideration 
than  are  the  others :  for,  although  most  of  them  are  undoubtedly 
spurious,  the  ones  that  are  partly  genuine  contain  the  only  traces 
of  historicity  discoverable  in  the  Nezv  Testament.  The  so-called 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  however,  has  the  form,  not  of  a  letter,  but 
of  a  sermon,  and  its  composition  is  more  finished  and  rhetorical 
than  that  of  the  letters  ascribed  to  Paulos :  it  is  not  an  epistle,  and  it 
is  not  Pauline.  Its  many  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  are 
all  copied  from  the  Septuagint,  even  where  that  Greek  version  mis- 
represents the  Hebrew  original;  and  from  this  it  is  to  be  inferred 
that  its  author  was  ignorant  of  the  Hebrew  language.  The  Epistle, 
or  rather  sermon,  is  a  Christianized  echo  of  Phil5n  Judaios.  Indeed, 
there  is  little  of  any  merit  in  any  of  the  Epistles  that  was  not  appro- 
priated from  the  writings  of  the  great  Jewish  philosopher. 

Who  Paulos  was  is  unknown.  Even  his  name  is  unknown ;  for 
"Paulos"  is  simply  a  descriptive  appellation,  the  Latin  paulus,  signi- 
fying a  little  man.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  he  is  also  called 
Saulos ;  and  in  that  implausible  work  of  fiction  he  is  made  the  hero 
of  thrilling  adventures,  and  appears  as  a  miracle-worker  second  only 
to  Petros,  who  raises  the  dead  widow  Dorkas  to  life.  Paulos  is  said 
in  the  Acts  to  have  been  an  accomplice  in  the  murder  of  a  Christian 


464  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"deacon,"  and  to  have  persecuted  the  Christians  most  brutally  until 
he  was  converted  to  their  cult  by  the  voice  of  lesous,  which  spoke 
to  him  from  the  sky.  Again  he  is  represented  as  travelling  in  com- 
pany with  a  certain  assistant  priest  ("Levite")  named  loses  or 
loseph,  who  was  surnamed  Bar-Nabas,  the  latter  name  being  erro- 
neously interpreted  by  the  author  of  the  Acts  as  "son  of  exhorta- 
tion." The  veracious  chronicler  relates  that  when  Paulos  was  at 
Lystra  he  magically  healed  a  cripple,  whereupon  the  natives  of  that 
city  declared  that  he  and  his  companion  were  Gods  who  had  de- 
scended in  the  semblance  of  men ;  "and  Bar-Nabas  they  called  Zeus, 
and  Paulos,  Hermes."  Now,  although  interpolations  have  been 
foisted  in  the  Epistles  to  confirm  some  of  these  fabrications  in  the 
Acts,  other  passages  in  the  Epistles  are  wholly  irreconcilable  with 
them.  Paulos  states  that  he  derived  his  knowledge  through  spiri- 
tual illumination,  and  describes  himself  as  a  "master-builder,"  a 
manager  of  the  Mysteries  who  visited  the  assemblies  or  lodges  in 
that  capacity :  he  was  therefore  a  Hermes,  a  messenger  of  the  central 
Lodge,  and  as  such  when  present  at  any  of  the  minor  lodges  he 
would  be  its  hierophant  or  initiator.  Naturally,  when  visiting  the 
lodges  he  would  be  accompanied  by  a  lesser  hierophant,  the  hydra- 
nos,  whose  office  it  would  be  to  instruct  candidates  in  their  duties 
and  administer  to  them  the  symbolic  rite  of  purification  by  water. 
The  word  nahia  signifies  a  mantis,  or  seer;  and  Bar-Nabas  means, 
not  "son  of  exhortation,"  but  "the  junior  seer,"  thus  denoting  the 
lesser  hierophant.  There  is  thus  a  glimmer  of  truth  in  the  fable 
that  the  people  mistook  Paulos  and  Bar-Nabas  for  Zeus  and 
Hermes :  and  the  name  loses,  with  its  variant  I5seph,  here  as  in 
Mark  vi.  3,  is  very  probably  a  substitute  for  loannes,  and  therefore 
reminiscent  of  the  hydranos,  or  so-called  "baptizer."  Even  the  mis- 
translation, "son  of  exhortation,"  points  to  the  lesser  hierophant, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  exhort  the  candidates  to  practise  the  virtues. 
If  Paulos  had  been  guilty  of  the  crimes  charged  against  him  in  the 
Acts  he  could  not  have  been  initiated  even  in  the  Lesser  Mysteries ; 
but  none  of  these  statements  found  in  the  Acts  and  in  the  spurious 
portions  of  the  Epistles  are  worthy  of  credence,  not  even  the  asser- 
tion that  Paulos  was  of  Jev^^ish  extraction.     From  his  slighting 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS  465 

remark  about  the  decadent  Jewish  priesthood,  and  from  the  terms 
of  the  rebuke  he  administered  to  Kephas,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  he 
himself  was  not  a  Jew. 

As  an  initiate  would  not  entrust  to  writing  any  of  the  secret  teach- 
ings, it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  anything  of  the  sort  is  contained 
in  the  Epistles.  It  would  seem  that  the  originators  of  the  new  re- 
ligion, having  somehow  obtained  possession  of  a  few  letters  written 
by  a  "pagan"  hierophant,  revised  and  expanded  them  to  suit  their 
own  purposes.  The  theological  interpolations  are  written  in  quite 
a  different  style  from  that  which  characterizes  the  portions  of  the 
Epistles  that  may  reasonably  be  regarded  as  genuine. 

Three  of  the  Letters  are  given  here,  as  the  only  ones  retaining 
a  distinctly  Pauline  element.  The  theological  and  pseudo-mystical 
passages  are  stricken  out;  and  the  translator  has  endeavored  to 
reproduce  accurately  the  meaning  and  force  of  the  original.  The 
word  apostolos  is  rendered  "Hermes";  evangelion,  "Gnosis";  and 
Christ  OS,  the  "Self."  For  the  technical  terms  in  the  text  are  Chris- 
tian substitutes  for  "pagan"  ones,  even  as  they  are  in  the  Synoptics. 

In  the  Letter  to  the  Galatians  Paulos  warns  the  "Brothers" 
against  certain  pseudo-teachers  who  are  endeavoring  to  lead  them 
astray.  He  states  that  the  doctrines  he  himself  has  imparted  to 
them  have  been  received  by  him  through  an  apocalypse  (unveiling), 
that  is,  by  the  Divine  Vision  (epopteia),  or  spiritual  illumination 
in  the  true  initiation.  At  the  first  dawn  of  the  spiritual  perception 
he  withdrew  to  Arabia ;  he  does  not  say  why  he  went  there,  or  how 
long  he  stayed,  but  states  abruptly  that  he  "returned  again  to 
Damaskos."  Now,  the  communes  of  the  Essenian  "Brothers"  were 
in  Arabia,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  whoever  edited  the  Letter 
deemed  it  expedient  to  strike  out  whatever  Paulos  may  have  written 
about  his  stay  among  the  Essenes,  who  were  ascetics  devoted  to  the 
contemplative  life  and  the  study  of  the  sacred  science.  Three  years 
after  his  return  to  Damaskos  he  went  to  Jerusalem  and  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Kephas.  Later  on,  Kephas  came  to  Antioch,  and 
his  conduct  while  there  was  so  cowardly  and  hypocritical  that  Paulos 
administered  to  him  a  scathing  rebuke.  It  would  seem  that  this 
Kephas  was  the  Jewish  pseudo-teacher  who  was  afterwards  ficti- 


466  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tiously  identified  with  the  mythical  Simon  of  the  Gospels  by  the 
simple  device  of  translating  the  Chaldaic  name  Kephas  into  Greek 
as  Petros  and  bestowing  it  upon  Simon  as  a  surname,  for  the  purpose 
of  creating  an  "historical"  disciple  of  lesous,  to  serve  as  a  founda- 
tion for  a  "church"  which  was  built  upon  the  mythobiography  of  the 
Sun-God.  The  denunciation  of  Kephas  by  Paulos  has  evidently 
been  softened  by  the  editors  of  the  text :  it  begins  as  a  reprimand, 
but  changes  abruptly  into  a  rambling  discourse  on  "faith"  as  the 
sole  means  of  salvation.  It  is  clear  that  the  charlatans  who  were 
embroiling  the  Galatians  were  of  the  party  of  Kephas;  for,  other- 
wise, what  is  said  of  him  would  be  quite  irrelevant.  In  this  Letter 
Paulos  refers  to  lesous  the  Anointed  as  having  been  portrayed  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  Galatians  as  a  man  crucified,  and  speaks  of  the 
Anointed  "becoming  formed"  in  the  neophytes.  He  quotes  the  old 
proverb,  found  in  the  w^ritings  of  Plato,  Cicero  and  others,  "What 
a  man  sows,  that  he  shall  also  reap,"  and  afiirms  that  he  w-ho  sows 
to  the  material  nature  reaps  mortality  (reincarnation),  and  he  who 
sow^s  to  the  spiritual  nature  reaps  immortality  (emancipation). 

The  Letter  to  the  Korinthians  was  written  because  of  a  division 
among  the  "Brothers"  there,  some  of  w^hom  regarded  themselves 
as  disciples  of  Paulos,  wdiile  others  made  claim  to  be  disciples  of 
Apollos.  The  text  has  a  reference  also  to  Kephas ;  but  this,  in  the 
light  of  w'hat  is  said  of  him  in  the  Letter  to  the  Galatians,  is  clearly 
an  impudent  interpolation.  Paulos  explains  that  he  and  Apollos  are 
w^orking  in  harmony  as  helpers  of  the  Divine  Self  and  managers  of 
the  Mysteries.  In  the  Acts  (xviii.  24  ct  seq.)  Apollos  is  said  to 
have  been  an  Alexandrian  Jew  who  knew  only  the  lustration  of 
Idannes  and  had  received  only  the  catechetical  instructions;  but 
Paulos  in  this  Letter  describes  him  as  being  a  hierophant,  and  ranks 
him  as  equal  if  not  superior  to  himself.  The  name  Apollos  is  a 
contraction  of  Apollonios,  "Apollo-like." 

The  Letter  to  the  Thessalonikans,  as  given  here,  is  extracted  from 
two  Epistles  wdiicli  are  generally  held  to  be  either  spurious  or  doubt- 
ful. These  Epistles  abound  in  moral  platitudes  and  sanctimonious 
phrases,  and  include,  among  other  amazing  imbecilities,  this  proph- 
ecy, made  "by  the  word  of  the  Lord,"  but  which  nevertheless  proved 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS  467 

to  be  a  false  alarm :  "The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  the  sky, 
with  an  arousing  shout,  with  an  archangel's  voice  and  God's  trum- 
pet ;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  arise  first,  then  we  who  are  living, 
who  remain,  shall  together  with  them  be  carried  away  in  the  clouds 
to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air."  Eliminating  these  absurd  forgeries, 
the  two  Epistles  are  reduced  to  a  few  manly  admonitions  that  differ 
materially  in  style  and  quality  from  the  interpolations. 


LETTER  TO  THE  GALATL^NS 

[i.  1-3,  6-g,  II,  12.  15-18,  21,  22;  ii.  I,  2,  6,  11-14;  iii.  i,  3-5,  9-13,  15-17, 
19,  20;  V.  7,  10,  13,  16,  17,  22-24;  vi.  7,  8] 

Paulos,  a  Hermes,  and  all  the  Brothers  who  are  with  me,  to  the 
Lodges  of  Galatia :  Greeting  and  Peace. 

I  am  astonished  that  you  are  falling  away  so  quickly  from  the  one 
who,  by  favor  of  the  Self,  called  you,  and  are  taking  up  with  a  dif- 
ferent Gnosis — which  is  nothing  else  than  that  certain  persons  are 
embroiling  you,  and  are  desirous  to  pervert  the  Gnosis  of  the  Self. 
But  even  though  we  or  a  God  from  heaven  should  bring  you  a 
Gnosis  contrary  to  that  which  we  imparted  to  you,  let  him  be  re- 
garded as  apostate.  For  I  declare  to  you.  Brothers,  that  the  Gndsis 
which  was  imparted  to  me  is  not  of  human  origin.  I  neither  re- 
ceived it  from  a  man,  nor  was  I  taught  it ;  but  it  was  made  known 
to  me  through  initiation.  Now,  when  He  who  had  set  me  apart 
from  my  birth  graciously  chose  to  unveil  his  Son  in  me,  I  refrained 
at  once   from  holding  communication  with  a  human  being,  but 

instead  I  went  away  into  Arabia and  returned  again  to 

Damaskos.  Then  after  three  years  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  in  order 
to  become  acquainted  with  Kephas,  and  stayed  with  him  fifteen 
days.  Then  I  came  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Kilikia;  but  I  was 
unknown  by  face  to  the  lodges  in  Judaea.  Then  after  fourteen  years 
I  went  up  again  to  Jerusalem  with  the  lesser  hierophant,  and  took 
Titos  also  along.  But  I  went  up  with  relation  to  initiation,  and 
placed  before  them  the  Gnosis  which  I  am  teaching  among  the  other 
nations,  but  privately,  to  persons  of  repute.     But  those   [Jewish 


468  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

priests]  who  are  reputed  to  be  something  (what  they  once  were 
is  to  me  a  matter  of  indifference)  communicated  nothing  to  me. 

But  when  Kephas  came  to  Antioch,  I  stood  up  against  him  in 
person,  because  a  charge  [of  cowardice  and  hypocrisy]  had  been 
laid  against  him.  For  before  the  coming  of  certain  persons  from 
[Jerusalem],  he  was  eating  with  men  of  other  nations;  but  when 
they  came,  he  withdrew  and  sechided  himself,  being  afraid  of  the 
circumcised  Jews!  And  the  rest  of  the  Jews  played  the  hypocrite 
together  with  him,  so  that  even  the  lesser  hierophant  was  led  astray 
by  their  hypocrisy.  But  when  I  saw  that  they  did  not  walk  uprightly 
according  to  the  truth,  I  said  to  Kephas  before  them  all:  "If  you, 
although  you  are  a  Jew,  are  living  like  non-Jewish  peoples,  and  not 
as  the  Jews  do,  why  are  you  requiring  disciples  from  other  nations 
to  adopt  Jewish  rites  and  customs  ?" 

Ah,  undiscerning  Galatians,  who  has  cast  a  spell  upon  you,  to 
whom  the  incarnate  Self  was  depicted  before  your  eyes  crucified? 
Are  you  so  undiscerning — having  begun  your  initiation  in  the  spirit, 
are  you  now  come  to  an  end  in  the  carnal  nature  ?  Did  you  undergo 
so  much  to  no  purpose — if  indeed  to  no  purpose?  Does  he  who 
supplies  to  you  the  very  breath  of  life,  and  energizes  the  spiritual 
forces  in  you,  do  it  as  resulting  from  ritualistic  observances,  or  as 
resulting  from  your  belief  in  oral  instructions?  Now,  however, 
when  you  have  obtained  knowledge  of  the  Self,  how  is  it  that  you 
are  turning  back  again  to  the  feeble  and  beggarly  elements,  and  are 
willing  to  be  again  in  bondage  to  them  ?  You  scrupulously  observe 
days,  and  moons,  and  seasons,  and  cycles !  I  fear  about  you  that 
somehow  I  have  exerted  myself  for  you  to  no  purpose. 

Brothers,  I  entreat  you  to  become  as  I  am  [spiritually],  because 
I  also  am  like  you  [physically].  You  have  done  me  no  wrong:  you 
saw  that  with  an  infirm  body  I  at  first  announced  the  Gnosis  to  you, 
and  you  did  not  show  contempt  when  you  were  put  to  the  test  by 
my  physical  appearance,  but  received  me  as  a  Hermes.  What,  then, 
was  your  glad  welcome — for  I  bear  you  testimony  that  you  would, 
if  possible,  have  dug  out  your  eyes  and  given  them  to  me?  And  so, 
because  I  speak  the  truth  to  you,  have  I  become  your  enemy?  These 
[false  teachers]  are  trying  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  you  to  no 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS  469 

good  intent ;  on  the  contrary,  they  desire  to  get  you  expelled  [  from 
the  Lodge],  that  you  may  become  eager  towards  them.  My  little 
children,  with  whom  I  am  again  in  travail  while  the  Self  is  becom- 
ing formed  in  you,  I  did  just  now  desire  to  be  present  with  you 
and  to  change  my  tone ;  for  I  do  not  know  what  to  do  about  you. 
You  were  running  well — who  checked  you,  that  you  should  not  obey 
the  truth  ?  I  have  confidence  in  regard  to  you  that  you  will  set  your 
mind  on  nothing  else  ;  but  he  who  is  embroiling  you,  whoever  he  may 
be,  shall  bear  due  condemnation. 

Brothers,  you  were  called  to  freedom — only  not  that  "freedom" 
w'hich  affords  a  pretext  for  the  carnal  nature.  On  the  contrary, 
regulate  your  lives  by  the  spiritual  nature,  and  you  will  not  accom- 
plish the  desires  of  the  carnal.  For  the  corporeal  nature  yearns 
adversely  to  the  spiritual,  and  the  spiritual  nature  adversely  to  the 
corporeal ;  for  these  are  in  opposition  to  each  other  to  the  end  that 
you  may  not  do  the  things  that  you  desire.  The  fruit  of  the  spiri- 
tual nature  is  love,  joy,  peace,  clemency,  nobleness  of  disposition, 
gentleness  and  self-mastery.  And  they  who  are  consecrated  to  the 
Self  have  crucified  the  corporeal  nature,  together  with  its  conditions 
and  desires. 

Brothers,  if  a  person  happens  to  be  detected  in  any  fault,  let  you, 
the  spiritual  ones,  restore  such  a  person  in  a  spirit  of  meekness. 
Consider  yourselves  individually,  that  you  may  not  also  be  put  to  the 
test.  Do  not  be  led  astray:  for  "what  a  man  sows  he  will  also 
gather  as  his  harvest."  He  who  sows  in  his  corporeal  nature  will 
gather  from  the  corporeal  nature  mortality  as  the  harvest ;  but  who- 
ever sows  in  the  spiritual  nature  will  gather  from  the  spiritual  na- 
ture life  immortal. 


LETTER  TO  THE  KORINTHLA.NS 

[I.  i.  1-3,  I&-14,  17,  18,  20;  ii.  6-8,  13-15;  iii.  1-6,  10;  iv.  I,  6-16] 

Paulos,  designated  a  Hermes    [by  the  Central  Lodge],  to  the 
Lodge  at  Korinthos :  Greeting  and  Peace. 

Brothers,  I  entreat  you  to  preserve  harmony  in  your  discussions. 


470  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

and  to  avoid  having  schisms  among"  yon ;  and  that  you  become  re- 
united in  the  same  mind  and  the  same  opinion.  For  it  has  been 
shown  to  me  in  respect  to  you,  Brothers,  that  there  are  dissensions 
among  you.  What  I  refer  to  is  this :  every  one  of  you  keeps  saying, 
"I  am  a  disciple  of  Paulos,"  or  "I  am  a  disciple  of  Apollonios,"  or 
"I  am  a  disciple  of  the  Self."  Is  the  Self  divided?  Was  Paulos 
crucified  in  your  behalf,  or  were  you  lustrated  in  the  name  of 
Paulos?  I  give  thanks  that  I  lustrated  none  of  you;  for  the  Lodge 
did  not  commission  me  to  lustrate,  but  to  teach  the  Gnosis — not, 
however,  in  cleverness  of  doctrine — to  the  end  that  the  cross  of  the 
Self  may  not  become  an  empty  symbol.  For  the  arcane  doctrine  of 
the  cross  is  an  absurdity  to  those  who  strive  for  things  that  perish ; 
but  to  us  who  are  winning  our  immortality  it  is  a  sacred  science. 
What,  then,  is  the  attitude  of  the  scholar,  the  man  of  letters,  the 
rationalist  of  this  age?  Did  not  God  make  the  science  of  this  world 
foolish?  But  among  men  who  are  spiritually  full-grown  we  dis- 
course on  science — not,  however,  the  "science"  of  this  age,  nor  of 
the  hierophants  of  this  age,  wdio  are  becoming  of  no  account — but 
we  discourse  on  the  divine  science,  in  a  Mystery,  preserved  in  in- 
violable secrecy,  which  none  of  the  hierophants  of  this  age  has 
known.  This  it  is  w^hich  we  speak,  not  in  propositions  taught  by 
human  science,  but  communicating  spiritual  truths  to  spiritual  men. 
Now,  the  psychic  self  does  not  apprehend  the  truths  of  the  spirit; 
for  to  him  they  are  foolishness,  and  he  can  not  understand  them, 
because  they  are  spiritually  examined.  But  the  spiritual  Self  exam- 
ines the  universe.  And  we  have  the  Higher  Mind.  And  I,  Brothers, 
was  not  able  to  talk  to  you  as  spiritual  men,  but  as  carnal :  as  babes, 
I  fed  you  on  milk,  not  solid  food,  which  you  were  not  yet  able  to 
digest.  Nor  are  you  yet  able ;  for — you  are  carnal !  When  there  is 
rivalry  and  strife  among  you,  are  you  not  carnal,  and  do  you  not 
conduct  yourselves  humanly  ?  For  wdien  one  says,  "I  am  a  follower 
of  Paulos,"  and  another,  "I  am  a  follower  of  Apollonios,"  are  you 
not  carnal?  What,  then,  is  Apollonios,  and  what  is  Paulos?  Ser- 
vants through  whom  you  came  into  faith.  I  set  out  the  plants. 
Apollonios  watered  them — but  it  was  God  that  made  them  grow. 
We  two  are  God's  fellow-workers,  and  vou  are  God's  harvest. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAULOS  471 

By  the  favor  of  God  which  was  bestowed  on  me,  as  a  skilful 
master-builder  I  laid  a  foundation,  and  another  [Apollonios]  is 
building  upon  it.  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  helpers  of  the  Self 
and  temple-managers  of  the  sacred  Mysteries.  Now,  Brothers,  I 
have  applied  these  metaphors  to  Apollonios  and  myself  on  your 
account,  so  that  in  reference  to  us  you  may  learn  not  to  rate  [either 
of  us]  beyond  what  is  written,  that  no  one  of  you  may  be  arrogant 
in  behalf  of  the  one  as  against  the  other.  For  who  conferred  superi- 
ority upon  3'ou,  and  what  do  you  possess  which  you  did  not  receive 
[from  an  initiate]  ?  But  if  you  did  receive  it,  why  do  you  boast  as 
if  you  had  not  received  it?  Already  you  are  satiated,  already  you 
are  rich;  you  have  become  kings  (initiates)  independently  of  us 
—  and  I  would  that  you  had  attained  royal  power,  that  we  also  might 
participate  in  your  sovereignty!  For  I  am  of  opinion  that  God  has 
exhibited  us.  the  last  of  the  Hermse,  as  men  condemned  to  death : 
for  we  have  become  a  public  spectacle  to  the  world,  both  to  Gods  and 
men.  We  are  simpletons,  but  you  are  sages ;  we  are  weak,  but  you 
are  mighty ;  you  are  illustrious,  but  we  are  unhonored.  To  the  pres- 
ent hour  we  suffer  hunger  and  thirst,  and  are  ragged  and  homeless 
wanderers ;  and  we  grow  weary  with  manual  labor.  When  reviled, 
we  speak  kindly;  when  persecuted,  we  endure;  when  calumniated, 
we  are  suppliant ;  we  are  become  now  as  the  scum  of  the  earth,  the 
offscouring  of  the  uni\'erse !  I  am  not  writing  these  things  to  shame 
you,  but  to  admonish  you  as  my  beloved  children.  For  though  you 
have  ten  thousand  pedagogues,  yet  you  have  not  any  number  of 
fathers;  for  I  alone  am  your  father  in  the  [Mysteries].  I  entreat 
you,  therefore,  become  sons  in  my  likeness. 


LETTER  TO  THE  THESSALONIKANS 

[I.  i.  I  ;  ii.  I,  3-8;  II.  iii.  6-8,  10-12,  14,  15] 

Paulos,  Silouanos  and  Timotheos  to  the  Lodge  of  Thessaloni- 
kans  :  Greeting.    Peace  be  with  you. 

Brothers,  you  know  that  the  official  visit  we  made  you  has  not 
turned  out  to  be  fruitless.     For  our  appeal  to  you  did  not  spring 


472  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

from  vagaries  of  opinion  or  from  the  unpurified  nature,  nor  was  it 
made  with  concealed  motives ;  on  the  contrary,  as  we  have  been 
approved  worthy  to  be  entrusted  with  the  Gnosis,  so  we  speak,  mak- 
ing no  attempt  to  curry  favor  with  men.  For,  as  you  know,  we 
were  not  given  to  flattering  discourse,  nor  to  pretentious  arrogance, 
nor  were  we  seeking  the  favorable  opinion  of  men — either  of  you 
or  of  any  one  else — although  we  have  influential  rank  as  Hermae  [of 
the  Central  Lodge].  But  we  became  babes  among  you !  As  though 
a  nurse  were  fostering  her  own  children,  so  we,  yearning  over  you, 
were  delighted  to  impart  to  you  not  only  the  Gnosis  but  also  our  own 
souls,  because  you  had  become  greatly  endeared  to  us. 

Now,  we  admonish  you.  Brothers,  to  shun  every  Brother  who  is  a 
straggler  outside  the  ranks,  and  does  not  follow  the  tradition  which 
you  received  from  us.  For  you  know  how  't  is  right  and  proper 
for  you  to  imitate  us,  because  we  did  not  fall  out  of  line  when 
among  you,  nor  did  we  eat  any  one's  bread  as  a  gratuity ;  but  in  toil 
and  hardship  we  worked  day  and  night,  so  as  not  to  become  a  bur- 
den to  any  one  of  you.  For  even  when  we  were  with  you  we  gave 
you  this  admonition,  "If  any  one  is  unwilling  to  work,  neither  let 
him  eat."  We  hear  that  some  of  you  have  become  stragglers  from 
the  ranks,  doing  no  work  at  all,  but  are  meddlesome  loafers.  Now, 
we  admonish  such  persons  to  keep  quiet,  go  to  work,  and  eat  their 
own  bread.  If  any  one  does  not  comply  with  our  doctrine  as  stated 
in  this  letter,  take  note  of  that  man,  and  refuse  to  associate  with 
him,  so  as  to  bring  him  to  a  sense  of  shame.  Yet  do  not  regard  him 
as  an  enemy,  but  give  him  brotherly  advice. 


PART  SECOND 

THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPELS,  TRANSLATED  INTO 

MODERN  ENGLISH,  WITH  COMMENTS 

ON  THE  SPURIOUS  PORTIONS 


INTRODUCTION 

In  Part  First  of  this  work  it  has  been  shown  that  the  true  and 
beautiful  portions  of  the  Syiioptic  Gospels  constitute  a  consistent 
allegory  of  initiation,  and  that  this  allegory,  which  is  paralleled  by 
the  Apocalypse,  is  couched  in  the  symbolic  language  of  the  Solar 
cult,  and  is  thoroughly  Hellenic  in  every  characteristic,  having  no 
real  connection  with  the  religious  system  and  sacred  literature  of  the 
Jews,  or  with  the  native  land  and  history  of  that  people.  Taking 
the  full  text  of  the  Synoptics,  it  will  now  be  pointed  out  that  all  the 
ostensibly  Jewish  portions  of  the  narrative  are  the  execrable  work  of 
forgers  who  were  ignorant  of  the  Hebrew  language,  and  who  had 
no  knowledge  of  things  Judaic  save  what  they  could  derive  from 
the  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testaiuciit  and  from  the  writings  of 
Josephus  and  Tacitus.  In  converting  the  Greek  allegory  into  a 
pseudo-Jewish  history,  in  which  it  is  mendaciously  asserted  that 
the  Jews  brought  about  the  agonizing  death  of  an  incarnated  God, 
a  World-Savior,  the  forgers  made  many  errors  of  a  kind  that  would 
not  be  found  in  a  work  of  Jewish  origin :  indeed,  no  Jew  could  have 
had  any  part  in  fabricating  this  heartless  libel  on  his  nation,  this 
travesty  on  the  Jewish  sacred  writings.  The  writers  who  compiled 
the  Synoptics  by  working  over  a  Greek  Mystery-drama  into  a  ficti- 
tious history  are  of  course  unknown  :  forgers  are  not  usually  anxious 
to  receive  credit  for  their  literary  performances.  The  names  Mat- 
thew, Mark  and  Luke  prefixed  to  these  Gospels  merely  represent  an 
ecclesiastical  tradition,  or  rather  fiction :  for  it  is  not  known  who 
Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke  were,  beyond  what  is  said  of  them  in  the 
New  Testament  itself,  which  nowhere  credits  them  with  the  author- 
ship of  the  Gospels.  Matthew  (Matthaios)  may,  by  phonetic  jug- 
gling, be  converted  into  a  Hebrew  word,  MattitJieah,  "God's  Gift" ; 
Luke  (Lonkas)  is  supposed  to  be  an  abbreviation  of  the  Latin  Lu- 
canus,  and  Mark  (Markos)  is  an  undisguised  Roman  name,  Marcus. 

475 


476  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

The  simple  fact  is  that  nothing  can  be  learned  about  the  Synoptics 
except  what  can  be  wrested  from  the  text  itself. 

Of  the  known  Greek  manuscripts  of  the  Nezv  Testament,  two  are 
supposed  to  date  from  the  fourth  century,  three  from  the  fifth,  and 
one  from  the  sixth ;  but  it  may  be  that  none  of  them  are  even  that 
old.  Of  the  remaining  copies,  over  twelve  hundred  in  number,  none 
can  safely  be  assigned  to  a  date  earlier  than  the  tenth  century.  The 
later  copies  contain  passages  (as,  for  instance,  the  concluding  twelve 
verses  of  Mark)  which  are  not  found  in  the  older  copies  and  are 
therefore  rejected  by  careful  critics  as  spurious.  But  the  Beza,  one 
of  these  six  older  copies,  is  admitted  to  be  extremely  corrupt :  al- 
though it  includes  only  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  it  contains  many  bold 
and  extensive  interpolations — more  of  them  than  any  other  manu- 
script extant.  The  Sinaitic  Codex,  another  of  the  six,  includes  the 
Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias,  two  wholly  spuri- 
ous productions.  Now,  the  early  centuries  were  prolific  in  ecclesi- 
astical forgeries :  many  fraudulent  Gospels,  Epistles,  etc.,  were  pro- 
duced, and  a  few  of  them  are  still  extant.  Even  non-Christian 
writings  did  not  escape  the  forgers ;  for  we  find  the  most  daring  and 
impudent  interpolations,  referring  to  Jesus,  his  brother  James,  and 
John  the  Baptist,  foisted  in  the  text  of  the  Jewish  historian  Josephus. 
These  facts  alone  are  sufficient  to  awaken  a  suspicion  that  even  the 
oldest  manuscripts  are  far  from  being  faithful  copies  of  the  primi- 
tive text;  and  when  the  Synoptics  are  critically  examined,  the  diver- 
sities of  literary  style  and  certain  peculiarities  of  the  Greek  being 
noted,  it  is  found  that  the  text  as  we  now^  have  it  is  a  patchwork :  it 
has  been  added  to  and  altered  at  various  times  and  by  different 
forgers — and  always  to  its  detriment.  The  text  is  encrusted,  so  to 
say,  with  several  layers  of  forgery. 

The  Synoptics  are  written  in  the  common  Greek  vernacular  of  the 
early  centuries,  the  debased  Attic  dialect ;  and  a  few  Latin  words  are 
found  in  them.  The  so-called  ''New  Testament  Greek,"  and  the 
supposed  Aramaic  coloring  of  Mark,  exist  only  in  the  theological 
imagination.  Indeed,  the  name  Marcus,  and  the  many  Latinisms 
in  the  text  of  Mark,  lead  to  the  inference  that  the  compiler  of  that 
Gospel  was  a  Roman.    The  writings  have  none  of  the  peculiarities 


INTRODUCTION  477 

of  translated  work;  the  quotations  (or  rather  misquotations)  from 
the  Old  Testament  are  taken  from  the  Greek  version,  thereby  be- 
traying the  fact  that  the  compilers  were  ignorant  of  Hebrew ;  and 
recently  discovered  papyri,  approximately  contemporaneous  with 
the  Gospels  and  written  in  the  same  Greek  dialect,  show  conclu- 
sively that  the  dialect  was  at  that  time  the  common  vernacular  of 
daily  life.  The  forgers  of  the  Gospels  were  uncultured  men,  who 
penned  the  same  language  that  they  used  orally,  being  incapable  of 
writing  in  the  more  elaborate  literary  style,  though  in  Luke  a  few 
sporadic  attempts  are  made  in  that  direction,  the  result,  however, 
being  labored  and  amateurish.  The  literary  style  of  the  Synoptics 
is,  for  the  most  part,  surprisingly  crude  and  inelegant,  in  strange 
contrast  with  the  sublimity  of  the  subject  as  a  whole  and  the  lofty 
ethics  inculcated  in  the  passages  that  may  be  regarded  as  genuine. 

The  three  Gospels  cover  the  same  ground.  Mark  is  more  primi- 
tive than  the  others  and  contains  but  a  few  verses  that  are  not  incor- 
porated in  the  other  two ;  these  verses  peculiar  to  Mark  are,  however, 
partly  later  forgeries,  added  after  Matthezv  and  Luke  had  been  com- 
piled, and  partly  material  which  the  later  compilers  seem  to  have 
rejected  in  order  to  falsify  the  text  more  thoroughly.  Matthew  and 
Luke  may  safely  be  looked  upon  as  merely  revised  and  enlarged 
copies  of  Mark,  made  independently  and  intended  to  supersede  it. 
Subsequently  the  text  of  each  was  further  falsified  by  various 
forgers ;  and  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  when,  in  an  uncritical  age, 
all  the  three  Gospels  thus  fabricated  were  received  as  inspired  and 
canonical,  they  contained  many  conflicting  statements.  Even  when 
taken  separately,  not  one  of  them  gives  a  consistent  narrative.  The 
desirability  of  harmonizing  them  was  not  seen  until  the  multiplica- 
tion of  manuscripts  had  made  this  impracticable.  Thus  it  is  that 
we  now  have,  bound  in  the  same  volume,  the  primitive  compilation 
and  two  variant  and  expanded  copies  of  it,  the  three  of  them  being 
rendered  still  more  discordant  by  alterations  and  additions  made  by 
later  forgers  who  endeavored  surreptitiously  to  make  their  sacred 
text  keep  pace  with  the  development  of  the  dismal  theology  of  the 
new  religion.  Some  of  these  interpolations  are  in  Latin  only,  appar- 
ently foisted  in  the  text  by  forgers  who  were  unacquainted  with 


478  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Greek.  The  English  received  version,  which  includes  many  passages 
which  are  now  rejected  as  spurious  by  every  competent  critic,  fol- 
lows the  Latin  version  more  closely  than  it  does  the  Greek  original, 
and  besides  being  extremely  inaccurate  betrays  the  theological  bias 
of  the  translators.  The  learned  revisers,  hampered  by  the  fear  of 
offending  sectarians,  and  loath  to  disturb  the  faith  of  the  multitude 
by  a  too  honest  translation,  failed  to  produce  a  version  satisfactory 
to  scholars,  but  succeeded  bravely  in  destroying  the  rhythm  of  the 
old  version ;  their  work  is  inaccurate  and  unpleasing. 

The  composite  structure  of  the  Synoptics,  when  analyzed,  shows 
that  the  text  must  have  passed  through  three  distinct  stages  before 
reaching  its  present  form :  the  original  myth  was  of  pagan  Greek 
origin,  antedating  Christianity  by  many  centuries,  and  was  em- 
bodied in  a  metrical  drama  pertaining  to  the  sacred  Mysteries ; 
prose  notes  of  this  drama  w-ere  recast  to  form  a  fictitious  Jewish 
history,  extensive  changes  and  additions  being  made,  but  essentially 
pagan  elements  predominating;  and  finally,  when  the  new^  cult  had 
become  differentiated  from  paganism  to  a  marked  degree,  and  a 
peculiar  system  of  belief  had  been  formulated,  the  Gospels  were 
progressively  falsified  to  make  them  accord  with  the  theology  in- 
vented by  the  priests.  Three  elements  are  therefore  to  be  distin- 
guished in  the  text :  first,  the  narrative  as  a  whole,  the  superb  work 
of  a  great  dramatic  genius,  inspired  as  all  true  poets  are,  and  versed 
in  the  sublime  mysteries  of  the  inner  life;  second,  the  rewording  of 
the  narrative  by  an  inferior  writer,  who  was  incapable  of  reproduc- 
ing the  beauty  of  the  original,  but  afforded  a  rugged  outline  of  it  in 
simple  prose:  and,  third,  the  unlovely  work  of  the  compilers  who 
plagiarized  it,  and  the  ugly  interpolations  added  by  later  forgers 
during  the  early  centuries  in  which  the  noble  faith  of  old  became 
distorted  into  the  chaos  of  irrational  beliefs  now  collectively  termed 
Christianity. 

Only  by  dishonorable  means  could  the  notes  of  the  Mystery- 
drama  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  men  who  utilized  them  to 
fabricate  the  Gospels  and  to  found  the  peculiar  cult  which  eventu- 
ally developed  into  the  Christian  religion.  The  notes  were,  no 
doubt,  incomplete,  and  the  pages  scattered ;  for  the  incidents  in  the 


INTRODUCTION  479 

Gospels  are  often  not  in  correct  sequence,  and  in  some  instances 
portions  of  the  same  passage  are  dissevered  and  given  in  widely- 
separated  places,  while  extraordinary  discrepancies  are  observable 
among  the  three  compilations.  While  some  of  these  dislocations 
were  made  with  fraudulent  intent,  others  are  clearly  due  solely  to 
the  ignorance  of  the  compilers.  In  making  these  notes  the  basis 
for  a  history  of  a  mythical  lesous,  converting  the  Greek  Sun-God 
into  a  Jewish  Messiah,  the  myth  was  connected  with  the  Jewish 
scriptures  by  making  out  that  lesous  was  a  reincarnation  of  King 
David,  and  Joannes  "the  baptist"  a  reincarnation  of  Elijah,  and 
similarly  that  other  characters  were  transmigrated  Jewish  worthies ; 
but  this  element  of  reincarnation  was  almost  obliterated  later  on, 
after  the  priests  had  invented  the  peculiarly  Christian  doctrine  of 
eternal  damnation.  Mark  was  evidently  compiled  at  an  earlier  date 
than  were  the  other  Gospels.  The  compilers  of  Matthew  and  Luke, 
having  come  into  the  possession  of  additional  notes,  composed  their 
respective  Gospels  by  incorporating  these  notes  in  the  text  of  Mark, 
which  they  partly  reworded,  at  the  same  time  adding  fresh  forgeries 
to  it.  Their  work  is  done  very  unskilfully:  the  compiler  of  Mat- 
thew,  by  inadvertently  weaving  into  the  text  notes  that  had  already 
been  used  in  the  compilation  of  Mark,  made  many  curious  repeti- 
tions; and  the  compiler  of  Luke  massed  nearly  all  of  his  additional 
notes  in  one  place,  regardless  of  the  continuity  of  the  narrative,  and 
with  hardly  a  pretence  of  orderly  arrangement.  The  word  Evan- 
gelion,  used  in  the  titles  of  these  compilations,  signifies  "good  mes- 
sage"; but  the  English  word  "Gospel"  is  derived  from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Godspell,  "God-story,"  and  therefore  does  not  correctly 
represent  the  Greek,  though  it  is  certainly  a  more  appropriate  title. 
However,  as  this  God-story,  the  mythos  of  the  crucified  Sun-God, 
was  stolen  from  the  pagan  Greeks,  the  Christians  have  no  better 
title  to  it  than  they  have  to  the  Old  Testament,  which  they  unblush- 
ingly  appropriated  from  the  protesting  Jews.  The  only  "sacred" 
writings  to  which  Christianity  can  justly  lay  claim  are  the  wholly 
spurious  ones,  such  as  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  still  more 
fantastic  Gospel  of  the  hifancy. 

In  the  following  translation  the  received  text  is  adhered  to,  save 


48o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

for  a  few  slight  grammatical  corrections  from  more  carefully  edited 
texts.  A  number  of  readings  found  in  the  manuscripts,  but  which 
are  excluded  from  the  orthodox  versions,  are  included ;  these,  and 
also  readings  given  in  the  received  version  but  rejected  by  the  re- 
visers, are  placed  in  double  brackets,  [  [  ]  ].  Inasmuch  as  about  half 
of  the  text  is  spurious,  it  seems  unfair  to  discriminate  against  later 
forgers,  who  had  quite  as  good  a  right  to  enrich  the  inspired  text 
with  their  pen-productions  as  had  their  equally  unscrupulous  pre- 
decessors. Words  not  found  in  the  Greek,  but  which  are  required 
by  the  English  idiom,  are  put  in  brackets,  [  ]  ;  but  where  there  is 
an  actual  lacuna,  a  gap  in  the  text,  so  that  the  English  words  sup- 
plied to  complete  the  sense  are  conjectural,  these  words  are  both 
bracketed  and  itaHcized.  Quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  are 
distinguished  by  printing  them  in  italics.  All  passages  which  appear 
to  have  been  derived  from  the  notes  of  the  Mystery-drama,  and 
which  in  substance  are  incorporated  in  The  Anointing  of  lesous,  are 
printed  in  type  of  a  bolder  face,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  infe- 
rior work  of  the  forgers;  but,  owing  to  the  corrupt  and  mutilated 
condition  of  the  text,  this  distinction  by  means  of  different  type- 
faces is  only  general  and  approximate,  since  the  minor  changes  in 
the  text  can  not  be  indicated  by  this  device.  Names  of  persons  and 
places  are  given  in  their  conventionally  Anglicized  forms,  when 
they  have  any  real  place  in  history,  mythology  or  geography;  but 
the  names  of  persons  and  places  that  are  unknown  save  in  the  New 
Testament  are  retained  in  the  Greek  form.  The  translation  aims  to 
represent  roughly,  if  not  actually  to  imitate,  the  unpolished  literary 
style  of  the  Greek  text,  or  rather  the  various  styles  discernible  in 
its  heterogeneous  composition. 


[[THE  GOOD  TIDINGS]]  ACCORDING 
TO  IvlARK 

Chapter  i.  i-8 

1  The  original  of  the  good  tidings  of  Anointed  lesous,  [[the  Son 
of  God.]] 

2  Just  as  it  is  written  in  Isaiah  the  seer : 

"Behold,  I  am  sending  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
Who  shall  make  ready  thy  way; 

3  The  voice  of  one  who  in  the  desert  keeps  shouting, 
'The  Master's  way  prepare  ye. 

Make  ye  his  pathzvays  straight' — 
[  [^Every  valley  shall  he  filled,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  he 
made  loiv,  and  all  crooked  things  shall  be  mode  straight  and  the 
rough  [land]  a  plain,  and  the  glory  of  the  Master  shall  be  seen,  and 
all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God.  For  the  Master  has  spoken, 
a  voice  saying:  'Cry  out  and  say  what  I  shall  cry  out,  That  all  flesh 
is  grass  and  all  its  glory  is  as  a  flower  of  grass;  the  grass  withers 
and  the  floiver  perishes,  but  the  ivord  of  the  Master  remains 
throughout  the  aeon.'  "  And]  ]  4  loannes  arose,  he  who  in  the 
desert  lustrates  and  proclaims  the  lustration  of  reform  for 
emancipation  from  sins.  5  And  the  whole  Judrean  country  and 
all  the  Jeriisalemites  were  going  out  to  him  and  being  lustrated 
by  him  in  the  Jordan  river,  their  sins  confessing.  6  And 
loannes  was  wearing  a  camel-hair  [tunic],  and  about  his  loins 
he  [had  strapped]  a  leathern  belt,  and  he  ate  locusts  and  wild 
honey.    7  And  he  made  proclamation,  saying : 

"Behind  me  is  coming  [the  Hierophant]  who  is  mightier 
than  I,  as  to  whom  I  am  not  strong  enough  to  stoop  down  and 
unlace  the  thong  of  his  sandals.  8  I  have  lustrated  you  with 
Water;  but  he  shall  lustrate  you  with  the  sacred  Air." 

481 


482  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Verse  i  appears  to  be  a  subtitle  signifying  that  Mark  was  the  first 
narration  of  the  hfe  and  mission  of  lesous.  The  translation,  "The 
beginning  of  the  good  tidings,"  etc.,  makes  poor  sense ;  while  the 
rendering,  "Good  tidings  concerning  Anointed  lesous  began  to  be 
proclaimed,  even  as,"  etc.,  is  strained  and  implausible,  for  the  "even 
as"  obviously  relates  to  verse  4,  the  sense  being  that  Idannes  arose, 
etc.,  even  as  had  been  prophesied.  The  interpolation  following 
verse  3  is  found  only  in  the  Washington  manuscript  (which  is  sup- 
posed to  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  or  the  latter 
part  of  the  fourth)  ;  it  disjoins  the  sentence  into  which  it  is  wedged, 
and  exemplifies  very  strikingly  the  fondness  of  the  forgers  for  foist- 
ing in  the  text  garbled  quotations  from  the  Jewish  scriptures. 

In  later  Greek  the  word  prophctcs  has  the  same  meaning  as 
mantis,  "a  seer."  Prophecy,  in  the  sense  of  seeing  or  predicting 
future  events,  is  but  a  phase  of  seership.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say  that  none  of  the  alleged  "prophecies"  quoted  from  the  Old 
Testament  have  any  reference  to  either  lesous  or  Idannes.  The 
passage  here  ascribed  to  Isaiah  is  a  falsified  quotation  taken  partly 
from  MalacJii  iii.  i  and  partly  from  Isaiah  xl.  3.  In  some  of  the 
later  manuscripts  the  forgers  have  changed  "Isaiah  the  seer"  to 
"the  seers" ;  but  this  timid  emendation  does  not  help  matters  much, 
for  both  of  the  "prophets"  are  incorrectly  quoted :  the  quotation 
from  Malaclii  is  altered  from  the  future  to  the  present  tense,  and 
that  from  Isaiah  refers  to  "Jehovah,"  not  to  "the  Master,"  or  lesous, 
and  reads :  "Prepare  ye  in  the  wilderness  the  way  of  Jehovah ;  make 
level  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God."  The  word  kyrios,  "mas- 
ter," conventionally  translated  "Lord,"  is  a  Greek  title  of  the  Sun- 
God  ;  and  the  Jewish  "Jehovah"  was  but  another  name  for  the  Solar 
Lord. 

Among  the  Greeks,  the  hydranos,  "bather"  or  "sprinkler,"  was 
the  presiding  priest,  or  initiator,  in  the  Lesser  Mysteries.  He  ad- 
ministered to  candidates  the  symbolic  rite  of  purification  by  water, 
and  instructed  them  in  the  moral  code  and  in  subjects  relating  to 
the  psychic  stages  of  development.     All  candidates  had  to  confess 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  483 

their  sins  to  him;  and  those  who  were  guihy  of  homicide  or  any 
other  serious  offence  were  by  law  excluded  from  the  initiatory  rites. 
The  word  hydranos  has  been  fraudulently  changed  to  ho  bapfizon, 
"he  who  dips,"  in  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  conceal  the  connection 
with  the  Greek  Mysteries;  elsewhere  the  coined  word  bapfisfcs  is 
used  in  the  text  as  the  title  of  loanncs.  Bapfistes  is  strictly  a  Nczv 
Testament  word,  being  found  nowhere  else  save  in  the  forgery 
foisted  in  the  text  of  Josephus  {Antiquities,  xviii.  5.  2),  in  which 
the  mythical  loannes  is  made  to  appear  as  an  historical  character. 
The  Jews  did  not  practise  the  rite  of  "baptism" ;  but  here  the  Hy- 
dranos  is  made  to  play  a  Jewish  role,  under  the  name  of  loannes, 
reminiscent  of  Cannes,  the  Babylonian  Fish-God,  also  called  Dag5n, 
and  who  is  the  same  as  the  Greek  Poseidon,  God  of  the  \\'ater.  The 
notion  of  making  loannes  a  recluse  in  the  wilderness  was  very 
probably  suggested  to  the  forger  by  what  Josephus  says  (Life,  p.  2) 
of  his  own  teacher,  whose  name  was  Banos,  and  who  lived  an  ascetic 
life  in  the  desert,  bathing  himself  very  frequently  in  cold  water. 
But  whereas  Banos  wore  no  clothing  save  the  leaves  from  trees,  and 
ate  only  the  things  that  he  found  growing  in  the  desert,  loannes  had 
locusts  added  to  his  frugal  diet,  as  permitted  by  Leviticus  xi.  22 ; 
and  the  costume  in  which  he  was  disguised  was  suggested  by  that 
of  Elijah  (TI  Kings  i.  8  and  Zechariah  xiii.  4),  on  the  theory  that 
he  was  Elijah  reincarnated,  and  wearing  the  same  uncomfortable 
clothing  that  he  wore  before  being  translated  to  heaven. 

Ch.  I.  9-13 

9  And  in  those  days  it  befell  that  lesous  came  from  Nazaret 
of  Galilee,  and  was  lustrated  by  loannes  in  the  Jordan.  10  And 
immediately  as  he  rose  up  from  the  water  he  saw  the  sky  part- 
ing asunder  and  the  Air  like  a  dove  descending  upon  him ;  1 1 
and  a  voice  from  the  sky  [declared] : 

"Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  of  whom  I  have  approved." 
12  And  immediately  into  the  desert  the  Air  drives  him.     13 
And  he  was  forty  days  in  the  desert,  being  made  trial  of  by  the 
Accuser ;  and  with  the  beasts  was  he ;  and  the  Divinities  served 
up  [a  banquet]  to  him. 


484  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Nazaret  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  or  in  the 
Talmud ;  it  is  first  introduced  to  geography  in  the  Gospels,  where  it 
is  variously  named  Nazareth,  Nazaret,  Nazarath  and  Nazara.  Out- 
side the  Gospels  and  the  Acts,  the  word  is  not  found  until  it  re- 
appears, centuries  later,  in  the  veracious  pages  of  Eusebios.  Appar- 
ently the  forgers  at  first  gave  lesous  the  distinction  of  being  a 
Jewish  Nazarite ;  but  finding,  later  on,  that  the  character  could  not 
be  made  to  fit  him,  they  invented  the  fictitious  town  of  "Nazaret" 
and  so  called  him  a  Nazarene  instead  of  designating  him  as  a 
Nazarite.  Idannes,  who  abstained  from  all  intoxicating  beverages 
(Luke  i.  15),  might  be  regarded  as  a  Nazarite;  but  not  so  lesous, 
who  even  in  the  Gospels  (Luke  vii.  34)  does  not  quite  lose  the 
attributes  of  the  solar  Dionysos.  The  modern  town  of  Nazareth 
is,  of  course,  merely  one  of  the  towns  rechristened  by  pious  Chris- 
tian archaeologists  in  the  attempt  to  make  the  geography  of  the 
"Holy  Land"  conform  to  Gospel  fiction. 

The  words  uttered  by  the  sky-voice  are  a  blended  quotation  from 
Isaiah  xlii.  i,  "Behold,  my  servant  whom  I  uphold,  my  chosen  in 
whom  T  delight,"  and  Psalms  ii.  7,  "Thou  art  my  son,  this  day  have 
I  begotten  thee."  Some  manuscripts  give  the  latter  quotation  in 
place  of  the  words  in  the  received  text.  lesous,  it  should  be  noted, 
is  already  in  the  desert  when  the  Air  drives  him  forth  into  it !  The 
forty  days  during  which  he  is  tried  by  the  Accuser  and  the  other 
"beasts"  should  be  forty-two,  to  be  in  conformity  with  the  allegory. 

Ch.  I.  14-20 

14  And  after  Idannes  had  been  handed  over,  lesous  came 
into  Galilee,  proclaiming  the  good  tidings  of  God's  realm,  15 
and  saying : 

"The  season  is  completed,  and  God's  realm  has  drawn  near. 
Reform  ye,  and  in  the  good  tidings  believe !" 

1 6  And  walking  beside  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  he  saw  Simon  and 
Andreas,  Simon's  brother,  spreading  a  dragnet  in  the  sea;  for 
they  were  fishermen.    1 7  And  lesous  said  to  them : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  485 

"Come  along  after  me,  and  I  shall  constitute  you  fishers  of 
men." 

18  And  immediately  they  left  their  nets  and  went  along  after 
him.  19  And  having  gone  on  a  short  distance,  he  saw  lakobos, 
son  of  Zebedaios,  and  his  brother  loannes;  and  they  were  in 
the  ship  mending  the  nets.  20  And  forthwith  he  called  them, 
and  they  left  their  father  Zebedaios  in  the  ship  with  the  hire- 
lings and  went  away  after  him. 

COMMENTARY 

The  promptitude  with  which  the  first  four  disciples  forsook 
everything  and  followed  him  would  lead  to  the  inference  that  they 
were  already  acquainted  with  him.  The  allegory  demands  that  they 
should  be  his  brothers;  but,  owing  to  the  literal  acceptance  of  the 
story  of  lesous  being  God-begotten,  the  compilers  of  the  Gospels 
were  very  timid  in  referring  to  his  family  affairs. 

Ch.  I.  21-28 

2 1  And  they  go  into  Kapernaum ;  and  immediately  on  the  sabbath 
day  he  entered  into  the  synagogue  and  taught.  22  And  they  were 
astounded  at  his  teaching ;  for  he  was  teaching  them  as  having  au- 
thority, and  not  as  the  scribes.  23  x\nd  immediately  there  was  a 
man  in  their  synagogue  [possessed]  by  an  unclean  spirit,  and  he 
cried  out,    24  saying: 

"Ha!  What  [matters  it]  to  us  and  to  you,  Nazarene  lesous? 
Are  you  come  to  destroy  us?  I  know  you,  who  you  are — God's 
devotee !" 

25  And  lesous  reproved  him,  saying: 
"Keep  quiet,  and  come  out  of  him." 

26  And  the  unclean  spirit,  throwing  him  into  convulsions  and 
screaming  with  a  loud  voice,  came  out  of  him.  27  And  all  were 
amazed,  so  that  they  discussed  it  among  themselves,  saying : 

"What  is  this— a  new  teaching?  With  authority  he  gives  orders 
even  to  the  unclean  spirits,  and  they  obey  him !" 

28  And  the  report  about  him  went  out  immediately  everywhere 
into  the  whole  country  round  about  Galilee. 


486  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

This  threadbare  little  story  may  safely  be  credited  to  the  forgers; 
in  fact,  it  is  a  fair  sample  of  their  amateurish  scribbling.  It  repre- 
sents lesous  as  teaching  dogmatically,  "having  authority"  to  dis- 
pense with  dialectics;  but  after  giving  the  narrative  this  fine  eccle- 
siastical touch,  the  forgers  do  not  venture  to  record  any  of  the 
teachings,  their  inventive  faculty  evidently  not  being  equal  to  the 
task ;  nor  do  they  explain  why  the  "unclean  spirit"  possessed  deeper 
insight  than  the  people  in  the  synagogue  had. 

Kapernaum  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  modern 
Biblical  geographers  are  not  agreed  as  to  its  location.  Josephus 
speaks  of  a  village  named  Kepharnome,  and  of  a  spring  called  Ka- 
pharnaum ;  and  the  forgers  may  have  confused  the  two. 

Cii.  I.  29-31 

29  And  directly  when  he  had  come  out  of  the  synagogue  he 
came  into  the  house  of  Simdn  and  Andreas,  with  lakdbos  and 
loannes.  30  Now,  Simon's  mother-in-law  was  laid  up  with  a 
fever,  and  immediately  they  tell  him  about  her.  31  And  having 
come  to  [her],  he  grasped  her  hand  and  raised  her  up;  and  im- 
mediately the  fever  left  her,  and  she  served  up  [a  dinner]  to 
them. 

COMMENTARY 

Although  Simon's  mother-in-law,  her  illness,  instantaneous  cure, 
and  generous  hospitality  are  placed  on  record  with  the  utmost  brev- 
ity, the  sanctimonious  vandals  who  mutilated  the  text  carefully 
saved  her  motherly  soul  from  the  disgrace  of  having  a  fallen  woman 
intrude  at  the  dinner :  for  very  properly,  from  their  strictly  moral 
point  of  view,  they  have  transferred  that  disagreeable  incident  to 
the  dinner  given  at  "the  house  of  Simon  the  leper,"  in  Chapter  xiv. 
3-9.  The  sanctity  of  Simon  and  the  respectability  of  his  mother-in- 
law  had  to  be  preserved ;  but  the  forgers  would  have  covered  their 
tracks  better  if  they  had  given  the  "leper"  some  other  name  than 
that  of  wSimon.  Only  a  few  lines  further  on  in  the  text  (verse  40) 
a  leper  begs  to  be  cleansed ;  and  this  evidently  suggested  the  leprous 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  487 

disguise  for  the  pseudo- Simon.    The  crude  mental  processes  of  the 
forgers  left  their  traces  everywhere  through  the  text. 

Ch.  I.  32-39 

32  Now,  of  an  evening,  when  the  sun  had  set,  they  used  to 
bring  to  him  all  who  were  ill,  and  those  spirit-possessed.  33 
And  the  whole  city  would  be  gathered  together  at  the  door. 
34  And  he  healed  many  who  were  afflicted  with  various  dis- 
eases, and  cast  out  many  spirits.  And  he  did  not  permit  the 
spirits  to  speak,  because  they  knew  him  [  [to  be  the  Anointed]  ] . 

35  And  very  early,  while  yet  't  was  night,  having  risen  up, 
he  went  out,  and  went  away  into  a  desert  place,  and  was  there 
praying.  36  And  Simon  and  those  with  him  hunted  him  out ; 
37  and  having  found  him,  they  say  to  him : 

"All  are  seeking  you." 

38  And  he  says  to  them : 

"Let  us  go  elsewhere,  into  the  adjoining  country  villages,  that  I 
may  proclaim  [the  good  tidings]  there  also;  for  I  have  come  forth 
for  this." 

39  And  he  went  proclaiming  [the  good  tidings]  in  their  syna- 
gogues throughout  Galilee,  and  casting  out  spirits. 

COMMENTARY 

The  casting  out  of  spirits  is  made  out  to  be  almost  as  important 
a  part  of  the  mission  of  lesous  as  the  proclaiming  of  his  "good  tid- 
ings." The  interpolators  have  not  been  sparing  of  "spirits,"  but 
have  sprinkled  them  so  generously  in  the  text,  along  with  "various 
diseases,"  as  to  convey  the  impression  that  the  Jews  were  an  un- 
healthy people,  a  very  great  number  of  whom  were  preyed  upon  by 
the  foul  shades  of  the  dead.  Yet  Tacitus  wrote  that  the  Jews  had 
healthy  bodies,  such  as  would  endure  heavy  toil.  The  unclean 
ghosts,  the  psychic  remnants  of  dead  persons,  are  said  to  have 
recognized  lesous  as  the  ^Messiah,  but  lesous  suppressed  their  testi- 
mony; yet  if  they  had  the  spiritual  wisdom  thus  ascribed  to  them 
it  would  seem  that  their  testimony  should  have  been  received  as  of 
some  value. 


488  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  I.  40-45 

40  And  a  leper  comes  to  him,  entreating  him  and  kneeling  down 
to  him,  saying  to  him  : 

"If  you  are  willing,  you  can  purify  me." 

41  And  his  heart  being  stirred,  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
touched  him,  and  says  to  him : 

"I  am  willing;  be  purified." 

42  And  [[when  he  had  spoken]]  immediately  the  leprosy  went 
out  of  him,  and  he  was  purified.  43  And  he  enjoined  him  threat- 
eningly, and  immediately  sent  him  out,    44  and  says  to  him  : 

"See  that  you  say  nothing  to  any  one;  but  go  show  yourself  to 
the  priest,  and  on  account  of  your  purification  make  the  contribu- 
tions which  Aloses  commanded,  for  evidence  to  them." 

45  But  he,  having  gone  out,  began  to  proclaim  [it]  much,  and 
to  make  his  story  known,  so  that  he  could  no  longer  openly  enter 
into  the  city,  but  stayed  outside  in  desert  places,  and  they  kept  com- 
ing to  him  from  every  quarter. 

COMMENTARY 

Unlike  the  obedient  unclean  spirits,  the  man  from  whom  the 
leprosy  "went  out"  disregards  the  strict  injunction  of  lesous,  and 
by  his  talkativeness  brings  another  host  of  possessed  and  diseased 
Jews  upon  lesous,  who  was  already  working  overtime  casting  out 
spirits  and  performing  cures.  Even  when  he  flees  to  the  desert  he 
is  kept  busy.  The  actual  statement  in  verse  45  is  that  the  man 
healed  of  the  leprosy  had  to  withdraw  from  the  city  to  desert  places, 
where  the  people  kept  coming  to  him ;  but  this,  of  course,  is  only 
an  error  due  to  the  interpolator's  lack  of  practice  in  literary  work. 

Chapter  ii.  1-12 

I  And  after  [some]  days  he  entered  into  Kapernaum  again,  and 
it  was  heard  he  is  in  the  house.  2  And  [[immediately]]  many 
were  gathered  together,  so  that  there  was  no  longer  any  room 
even  at  the  door;  and  he  was  telling  them  of  the  arcane  doc- 
trine.   3  And  [certain  men]  come,  bringing  to  him  a  paralytic, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  489 

borne  by  four.  4  And  not  being  able  to  bring  [the  man]  near  to 
him,  on  account  of  the  crowd,  they  uncovered  the  roof  where 
he  was,  and  having  broken  it  up,  they  let  down  the  pallet  where- 
[on]  the  paralytic  was  lying.  5  And  lesous,  seeing  their 
faith,  says  to  the  paralytic : 

''Child,  your  sins  are  remitted  [ [to  you]  ]." 

6  Now,  there  were  some  of  the  scribes  sitting  there  and  de- 
bating in  their  hearts : 

7  "Why  does  this  [man]  talk  thus?  He  is  defaming  [God] ! 
Who  except  one — God — can  remit  sins?" 

8  And  immediately  lesous,  having  discerned  by  his  intuitive 
mind  that  they  are  thus  arguing  among  themselves,  says  to 
them: 

"Why  are  you  arguing  these  things  in  your  hearts?  9  Which 
is  easier,  to  say  to  this  paralytic,  'Your  sins  are  remitted,'  or  to 
say,  'Arise,  take  up  your  pallet  and  walk'?  10  But  that  you 
may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  has  authority  on  earth  to  remit 
sins,"  (he  says  to  the  paralytic,)  1 1  "I  say  to  you,  Arise,  take  up 
your  pallet  and  go  to  your  house." 

12  And  he  arose  [[immediately]]  and  took  up  the  pallet  and 
went  out  in  presence  of  them  all;  so  that  all  were  astonished  and 
glorified  God,  saying: 

"Never  have  we  seen  [a  cure  performed]  thus !" 

COMMENTARY 

Allegorically,  the  "house"  here  is  Aries,  which  is  the  house  of 
lesous  and  also  of  loudas.  According  to  the  "historicized"  text, 
the  "house"  was  in  Kapernaum ;  but  no  city  of  that  name  is  known 
to  geography,  and  it  certainly  has  no  place  in  the  starry  heavens. 

Ch.  II.  13-22 

13  And  he  went  out  again  beside  the  sea;  and  all  the  crowd 
came  to  him,  and  he  taught  them.  14  And  passing  on,  he  saw 
Leui,  the  [son]  of  Alphaios,  sitting  at  the  custom-house,  and 
says  to  him : 

"Follow  me." 


490  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  he  arose  and  followed  him.  1 5  And  it  befell  that  as  he 
reclined  [at  table]  in  his  house  many  tax-collectors  and  immoral 
men  were  reclining  at  table  with  lesous  and  his  disciples;  for 
they  were  many,  and  they  went  along  with  him.  16  And  the 
scribes  and  the  Pharisees,  when  they  saw  him  eating  with  the 
tax-collectors  and  immoral  men,  said  to  his  disciples: 

"Why  does  he  eat  [[and  drink]]  with  tax-collectors  and 
immoral  men?" 

17  And  lesous,  when  he  heard   [this],  says  to  them: 
"They  who  are  in  health  have  no  need  of  a  physician,  but 

they  who  are  ill.     I  did  not  come  to  call  the  virtuous,  but  the 
immoral,  to  reform." 

18  And  the  disciples  of  loannes  and  the  [disciples]  of  the 
Pharisees  practise  fasting;  and  they  come  and  say  to  him: 

"Why  do  the  disciples  of  loannes  and  the  [disciples]  of  the 
Pharisees  fast,  but  your  disciples  do  not  fast?" 

19  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"Can  the  sons  of  the  bridechamber  fast  while  the  bridegroom 
is  with  them?  As  long  as  they  have  the  bridegroom  with  them 
they  can  not  fast.  20  But  days  will  come  when  the  bridegroom 
will  have  been  taken  away  from  them,  and  then  they  will  fast 
in  those  days.  21  No  one  sews  a  piece  of  uncarded  cloth  on  an 
old  garment,  else  the  patch  made  from  it  tears  away  the  new 
from  the  old,  and  a  worse  rent  results.  22  And  no  one  puts 
fresh  wine  into  old  wineskins,  else  the  fresh  wine  bursts  the 
wineskins,  and  the  wine  is  wasted,  also  the  wineskins;  [[but 
[they  put]  fresh  wine  into  new  wineskins]]." 

COMMENTARY 

In  place  of  "Leu'i"  some  manuscripts  have  "lakobos."  Originally 
it  probably  was  "loudas,"  and  the  information  that  he  was  a  tax- 
gatherer  was  contributed  by  a  "historian"  who  wished  to  make  the 
"traitor"  appear  more  odious.  A  later  "historian"  erased  the  name 
"loudas"  and  wrote  in  "lakobos  the  son  of  Alphaios,"  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  loudas  was  the  fifth  disciple  called;  and  lastly  a  con- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  491 

scientious  redactor  changed  "lakobos"  to  "Letii,"  to  accord  with 
Luke.  Thus  the  fictitious  Leui,  substituted  for  loudas,  became  a 
tax-gatherer  and  son  of  Alphaios. 

The  Pharisees  were  a  sect  or  school  of  orthodox  Jews;  and  Jo- 
sephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  gives  a  far  more  flattering  picture 
of  them  than  that  which  is  painted  in  the  Synoptics. 

Ch.  II.  23-28 

23  And  it  befell  that  he  was  passing  along  through  the  grain- 
fields  on  the  sabbath ;  and  his  disciples  began  to  make  a  path,  pluck- 
ing the  ears.    24  And  the  Pharisees  said  to  him : 

''Look !    ^^'hy  are  they  doing  on  the  sabbath  what  is  not  lawful  ?" 

25  And  he  says  to  them : 

"Have  you  never  read  what  David  did  when  he  was  in  want  and 
was  hungry — he  and  those  with  him — 26  how  he  entered  into 
God's  house,  in  [the  clays  of  the]  high-priest  Abiathar,  and  ate  the 
loaves  of  the  display-ofl^ering,  which  it  is  not  lawful  to  eat  except 
for  the  priests,  and  gave  also  to  those  who  were  with  him?" 

27  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"The  sabbath  originated  on  account  of  man,  and  not  man  on  ac- 
count of  the  sabbath;  28  so  that  the  Son  of  man  is  master  also  of 
the  sabbath." 

COMMENTARY 

As  here  depicted  by  the  forgers,  lesous  is  a  poor  reasoner,  whose 
memory  sometimes  played  him  false.  David  did  not  enter  the  sanc- 
tuary and  eat  the  consecrated  bread ;  he  went  to  the  high-priest,  who 
was  Ahimelech  and  not  Abiathar,  and  asked  for  bread,  and  his 
friend  Ahimelech  gave  him  the  hallowed  bread  because  he  had  noth- 
ing else  on  hand.  Conceding,  however,  that  David  violated  the  law 
by  eating  the  bread,  the  fact  that  he  committed  the  offence  would 
not  justify  the  disciples  of  lesous  in  defying  another  law  by  dese- 
crating the  sabbath.  The  men  in  both  cases  were  hungry,  and 
"necessity  knows  no  law" ;  but  this  defence  is  not  offered  by  lesous, 
whose  reasoning,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  is  illogical,  while  the 
conclusion  he   reaches  is   strained   and  even   clownish.      The  real 


492  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

offence  of  the  disciples  in  trampling  a  path  through  the  grain-fields 
is  lost  sight  of  in  the  discussion. 

Chapter  hi.  i-6 

I  And  he  entered  again  into  the  synagogue.  And  there  was  a 
man  there  who  had  his  hand  withered.  2  And  they  were  watching 
him,  so  that  if  he  should  heal  him  on  the  sabbath,  they  might  prefer 
charges  against  him.  3  And  he  says  to  the  man  having  the  with- 
ered hand : 

"Arise  [and  stand]  in  the  midst." 

4  And  to  them  he  says  : 

*'Is  it  lawful  to  do  right  or  to  do  wrong  on  the  sabbath  day,  to 
save  a  [man's]  life  or  to  kill  [him]  ?" 

But  they  were  silent.  5  .Vnd  having  surveyed  them  with  indig- 
nation, feeling  pained  at  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  he  says  to 
the  man : 

"Stretch  out  your  hand." 

And  he  stretched  it  out,  and  [[his  hand]]  was  restored  sound, 
like  the  other.  6  And  the  Pharisees  went  out  and  immediately 
consulted  with  the  Herodians,  how  they  might  destroy  him. 

COMMENTARY 

Realizing,  no  doubt,  that  in  his  defence  of  his  disciples  lesous 
had  not  presented  a  very  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  a  less 
strict  observance  of  the  sabbath,  the  interpolators  have  tried  to 
bolster  it  up  by  having  lesous  adopt  the  Socratic  method,  empha- 
sizing his  deductions  by  a  miraculous  feat  of  healing.  But  the 
miracle  is  plagiarized  from  Tacitus,  and  the  argument  advanced  by 
lesous  is  mere  casuistry.  All  secular  business  was  supposed  to  be 
suspended,  as  far  as  possible,  on  the  sabbath.  To  "do  wrong,"  as 
to  kill  a  man,  w^as  unlawful  at  all  times.  Healing  a  withered  hand 
was  not  saving  a  life;  and  the  miracle  could  have  been  postponed 
to  a  secular  day.  In  attempting  to  employ  the  Socratic  method,  the 
forgers  have  succeeded  only  in  exhibiting  the  peculiarly  illogical 
w^orking  of  the  theological  mind.     Besides,  the  Pharisees,  judging 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  493 

by  the  character  given  them  by  Josephus,  \vould  undoubtedly  have 
approved  of  the  cure  wrought  on  the  sabbath. 

The  sabbath  of  the  Jews  was,  and  still  is,  Saturday,  the  day  of 
Saturn ;  the  day  of  the  Sun  was  appointed  for  Christian  observance 
by  that  Christian  ex-sun-worshipper,  the  Emperor  Constantine. 
These  "holy"  days  had  their  origin  in  astrology ;  and,  so  far  as 
Christianity  is  concerned,  the  "holy  sabbath"  is  only  a  vulgar  super- 
stition. In  Europe,  during  the  middle  ages,  "sabbath"  was  used  for 
Saturday;  and  not  till  1554  did  it  become  synonymous  with 
"Sunday." 

Two  of  the  miraculous  cures  performed  by  lesous,  the  healing  of 
the  man  with  the  withered  hand  and  the  restoration  of  a  blind  man's 
sight  by  anointing  his  eyes  with  saliva,  have  a  most  suspicious 
resemblance  to  the  two  cures  performed  by  the  Roman  Caesar  Ves- 
pasian, as  recorded  by  Tacitus  (History,  B.  v.  ch.  x),  who  is  con- 
firmed by  Suetonius  (J^cspasian,  sec.  7)  and  Dio  Cassius  (History, 
p.  217)  ;  and  as  it  is  plainly  evident  that  the  Synoptic  forgers  con- 
sulted the  writings  of  Josephus  and  of  Tacitus,  from  which  they 
obtained  many  suggestions,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  certainty  tliat  in 
this  instance  the  things  which  are  Caesar's  have  been  fraudulently 
rendered  to  the  anthropomorphized  Sun-God.  Tacitus  relates  tliat 
while  Vespasian  was  delayed  at  Alexandreia,  waiting  for  settled 
weather  at  sea  (the  Caesar,  it  would  seem,  not  having  the  magic 
power  of  lesous  to  still  the  storms),  many  miraculous  events  hap- 
pened, by  the  good-will  of  Heaven  and  the  favor  of  God.  A  well- 
known  blind  man,  prompted  by  the  national  God  Serapis,  begged 
the  Caesar  to  put  some  of  his  saliva  upon  his  sightless  eyes  and  cure 
him  of  his  blindness.  Another  man,  with  a  withered  hand,  also 
prayed  the  Caesar,  by  the  same  God's  suggestion,  to  heal  him. .  Ves- 
pasian at  first  only  laughed  at  them ;  but  as  they  continued  to  urge 
him,  he  obtained  the  opinion  of  the  physicians,  who  told  him,  though 
uncertainly,  that  in  the  one  case  the  visual  organs  were  not  utterly 
destroyed,  and  that  sight  might  be  restored  if  the  obstacles  were 
removed ;  and  that,  in  the  other  case,  the  limb  was  disordered,  but 
capable  of  being  made  whole  if  a  healing  virtue  were  made  use  of. 
They  also  suggested  that  it  might  be  that  the  Gods  were  willing, 


494  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESlAMEN'l 

and  that  the  Emperor  was  chosen  by  divine  interposition;  if  the 
cures  succeeded,  the  Caesar  would  have  the  glory,  but  if  not,  the 
infirm  men  only  would  be  laughed  at.  Vespasian,  thus  inspired 
with  confidence,  did  what  the  infirm  men  desired  of  him,  in  the 
sight  of  an  expectant  multitude,  whereupon  "the  lame  hand  was 
restored,  and  the  blind  man  saw  immediately."  "Both  these  cures," 
Tacitus  adds,  "are  related  to  this  day  by  those  who  were  present 
and  when  speaking  falsely  will  get  no  reward." 

The  "Herodians,"  with  whom  the  Pharisees  consulted,  were  a 
Jewish  sect  concerning  whom  history  is  mysteriously  silent.  Pre- 
sumably they  are  one  of  the  many  inventions  of  the  forgers. 

Ch.  III.  7-12 

7  And  lesous  withdrew  with  his  disciples  to  the  sea.  and  a  large 
throng  went  along  after  him ;  8  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  from 
Idumaea,  and  beyond  the  Jordan,  and  around  Tyre  and  Sidon,  a  large 
throng,  having  heard  how  many  things  he  was  doing,  came  to  him. 

9  And  he  spoke  to  his  disciples,  that  a  boat  should  be  constantly  near 
to  him  because  of  the  crowd,  lest  they  might  press  hard  upon  him; 

10  for  he  had  healed  many,  so  that  as  many  as  had  scourges  threw 
themselves  upon  him  that  they  might  touch  him.  1 1  And  the  un- 
clean spirits,  whenever  they  beheld  him,  would  fall  down  before 
him  and  scream,  saying: 

"The  son  of  God  art  thou !" 

12  And  he  would  enjoin  them  much,  that  they  should  not  make 
him  manifest. 

COMMENTARY 

As  here  represented,  lesous  could  control  the  spirits  of  the  dead, 
but  could  not  preserve  order  among  his  living  followers :  he  had 
to  have  a  boat  in  constant  readiness  for  fear  the  great  multitude  of 
diseased  people  w^ould  crowd  him  ofT  the  land  and  into  the  sea !  It 
would  seem  that  he  could  perform  astounding  miracles  by  whole- 
sale without  any  risk  of  betraying  the  fact  that  he  was  "the  son  of 
God,"  save  from  the  unclean  spirits,  who  alone  discerned  his  God- 
hood  and  desired  to  proclaim  it.     Why  the  impure  spirits  should 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  495 

have  so  great  wisdom  is  a  profound  mystery;  nor  is  it  quite  clear 
how  his  enjoining  them  to  secrecy  would  be  of  any  avail  after  they 
had  already  screamed  out  in  public,  before  "great  crowds,"  that  he 
was  the  son  of  God. 

Ch.  III.   13-19 

13  And  he  goes  up  into  the  mountain,  and  calls  to  him  v/hom 
he  would;  and  they  went  to  him.  14  And  he  appointed  twelve, 
that  they  might  be  with  him,  and  that  he  might  send  them  out 
to  proclaim  [the  good  tidings],  15  and  to  have  authority  to 
heal  diseases,  and  to  cast  out  spirits.  16  And  on  Simon  he 
imposed  the  name  Petros;  17  and  lakobos  the  [son]  of  Zebe- 
daios,  and  Idannes  the  brother  of  lakobos,  and  on  them  he  im- 
posed the  name  Boanerges,  that  is,  "Sons  of  Thunder";  t8 
and  Andreas,  and  Philippos,  and  Ptolemaios  Junior,  and  Mat- 
thias, and  Thomas,  and  lakobos  the  [son]  of  Alphaios,  and 
Thaddaios,  and  Simon  the  native  of  Kana,  19  and.  loudas 
Iskariotes,  who  also  handed  him  over. 

COMMENTARY 

This  passage,  ending  in  the  middle  of  verse  19,  as  above,  should 
be  followed,  without  a  break,  by  the  matter  beginning  at  vi.  7.  The 
manuscript  has  been  severed  by  the  interpolator  in  the  middle  of  this 
verse  19,  and  several  pages  of  irrelevant  matter,  composed  partly  of 
forgeries  and  partly  of  passages  that  belong  elsewhere  in  the  text, 
have  been  inserted.  That  this  was  done  with  the  intention  of 
eliminating  the  seventy-two  disciples  becomes  evident  when  a  com- 
parison is  made  with  the  text  of  Luke.  The  twelve  disciples  who 
remain  with  Tesous  (the  Sun)  are  the  zodiacal  constellations.  The 
seventy-two  disciples  who  are  "sent  out,"  the  extra-zodiacal  con- 
stellations, have  been  expunged  from  the  text  of  Mark  and  Mat- 
thew, and  all  that  relates  to  them  has  been  ascribed  to  the  twelve. 
Thus,  while  Luke  (x.  i)  correctly  has  the  seventy-two  sent  out 
"two  by  two,"  in  Mark  vi.  7  it  is  the  twelve  who  are  sent  out 
"two  by  two."  The  cause  of  this  discrepancy  is  easily  discovered: 
the  reference  in  Luke  to  the  seventy-two  is  contained  in  the  so- 
called  periscope,  which  consists  of  new  matter  inserted  by  the  com- 


496  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

pilcr  of  that  Gospel;  but  the  compiler  innocently  inserted  as  "new" 
matter  the  very  passage,  unchanged,  which  in  Mark  and  Matthew 
had  been  mutilated  by  fraudulently  eliminating  the  seventy-two  dis- 
ciples ! 

loudas  is  placed  last  in  the  list,  being  degraded  for  his  supposed 
treachery;  and  the  mythical  Simon,  having  been  chosen  to  be  the 
founder  of  the  Roman  hierarchy,  is  proudly  given  first  place,  and  is 
identified,  by  bestowing  upon  him  the  surname  "Petros,"  with 
Kephas,  who  was,  according  to  Paulos,  a  coward  and  a  hypocrite. 
"Levi,  the  son  of  Alphaios,"  who  in  ii.  4  ousted  loudas,  is  not 
named  among  the  twelve;  but  there  is  a  "son  of  Alphaios"  called 
lakobos,  and  Matthias  is  also  named. 

Ch.  III.  19-30 

And  he  comes  into  a  house ;  20  and  a  crowd  comes  together 
again,  so  that  they  are  unable  even  to  eat  bread.  21  And  when  they 
heard  of  [it],  his  relatives  went  out  to  restrain  him;  for  they  said: 

"He  is  out  of  his  wits." 

22  And  the  scribes  who  came  down  from  Jerusalem  said : 

"He  's  possessed  by  Beelzeboul,"  and,  "He  's  casting  out 
ghosts  by  the  king  of  the  ghosts." 

2T^  And  he  called  them  to  [him]  and  said  to  them  in  alle- 
gories : 

"How  can  Satan  cast  out  Satan?  24  And  if  a  kingdom  is 
divided  against  itself,  that  kingdom  can  not  stand;  2~,  and  if 
a  house  is  divided  against  itself,  that  house  can  not  stand.  26 
And  Satan  can  not  stand,  but  is  done  for,  if  he  has  risen  up 
against  himself  and  is  divided.  2y  But  no  one  can  enter  the 
strong  man's  house  and  plunder  him  of  his  domestic  gear  unless 
he  first  binds  the  strong  man ;  and  then  he  will  pillage  his  house. 
28  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  All  sins  shall  be  forgiven  the  sons  of 
men,  and  whatever  calumnies  they  may  perpetrate;  29  but 
whoever  shall  calumniate  the  sacred  Air  shall  not  be  forgiven 
throughout  the  aeon,  but  is  subject  to  the  penalty  of  an  seonian 
sin." 

30  (Because  they  said,  "He  's  possessed  by  an  unclean  spirit.") 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  497 

COMMENTARY 

Having  escaped  the  peril  of  being  pushed  into  the  sea,  lesous 
now  finds  it  impossible  "even  to  eat  bread"  because  of  the  impor- 
tunate crowd,  although  he  has  sought  shelter  in  a  house;  and  it 
appears  that  most  of  those  who  pursue  him  are  possessed  by  unclean 
spirits. 

The  scribes  displayed  their  learning  by  referring  to  Beelzeboul 
(or  Beelzeboub),  but  they  neglected  to  state  who  he  is,  and  mod- 
ern scholarship  has  been  unable  to  find  any  light  on  the  subject. 
Some  theologians  fancy  that  he  is  the  same  as  Satan,  while  others 
incline  to  the  opinion  that  he  was  a  hobgoblin  having  an  indi- 
viduality of  his  own.  But,  as  he  is  king  {arcJwn)  of  the  shades,  he 
must  be  Plouton  and  no  one  else.  But  in  a  Jewish  "history"  the 
Stygian  King  had  to  disguise  his  nationality  under  a  barbaric  name 
invented  for  him  by  the  "historian."  The  latter,  however,  must 
have  been  wandering  in  his  mind  when  he  dragged  in  the  reference 
to  the  "strong  man,"  who  is  utterly  out  of  place  here. 

The  daimonia,  ignorantly  translated  "devils"  in  the  authorized 
version,  and  slightly  softened  into  "demons"  by  the  revisers,  are 
correctly  said  by  Josephus  {Wars,  vii.  6.  3)  to  be  "no  other  than  the 
spirits  of  the  wicked,  that  enter  into  men  who  are  alive."  They  are 
the  same  as  the  "unclean  spirits" ;  and  in  this  translation  they  will 
be  termed  "ghosts."  In  the  old  version  hagion  pnciima  is  construed 
"Holy  Ghost,"  the  latter  word  retaining  its  original  meaning  of 
"breath"  or  "spirit,"  being  derived  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  gast.  In 
the  spurious  portions  of  the  Gospels  the  "angels"  (who  are  simply 
the  "pagan"  Gods)  and  the  "ghosts"  are  both  very  much  in  evi- 
dence; but  in  the  genuine  portions  of  the  text  they  are  spoken  of 
but  a  few  times. 

The  "unpardonable  sin,"  which  for  centuries  has  adorned  the 
theological  chamber  of  horrors,  is  but  the  echo  of  an  occult  doctrine 
relating  to  the  psychic  abuse  of  the  procreative  function.  As  here 
interpolated  into  the  text,  it  is  wholly  irrelevant. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  altercation  between  lesous  and  the 
scribes  is  dislocated,  being  clumsily  woven  into  the  absurd  story 


498  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

about  the  relatives  of  lesous  trying  to  put  him  under  restraint  be- 
cause they  beheved  him  to  be  demented. 

Cii.  III.  31-35 

31  And  his  brothers  and  his  mother  came,  and  standing  outside 
they  sent  to  him,  summoning  him.  32  And  a  crowd  sat  around 
him,  and  they  say  to  him : 

"Look,  your  mother  and  your  brothers  [[and  your  sisters]]  out- 
side are  seeking  you." 

33  And  in  answer  to  them  he  says : 
"Who  is  my  mother  and  my  brothers?" 

34  And  gazing  around  at  those  who  are  sitting  in  a  circle  about 
him,  he  says : 

"Behold  my  mother  and  my  brothers!  35  [[For]]  he  is  my 
brother,  sister  and  mother  who  does  the  will  of  God." 

COMMENTARY 

The  relatives  of  lesous,  who  are  seeking  to  restrain  him  because 
they  think  that  he  is  not  in  his  right  mind,  prove  to  be  his  mother 
and  his  brothers  (and,  according  to  a  belated  historian,  his  sisters). 
The  delusion  of  Mariam  and  the  brothers  of  lesous  (who  are  in 
fact  his  five  chief  disciples)  contrasts  painfully  with  the  lucid  per- 
ception of  the  unclean  spirits,  who  instantly  recognized  lesous  as 
the  son  of  God.  To  lesous,  thirty  years  of  age  and  the  centre  of 
admiring  throngs,  this  misguided  solicitude  of  his  mother  and  his 
brothers,  expressed  so  publicly,  must  have  been  extremely  embar- 
rassing; but  his  chagrin  would  hardly  justify  his  harsh  repudiation 
of  his  well-meaning  but  tactless  relatives.  He  who  thus  repudiates 
the  mother  who  bore  him  is  far  indeed  from  doing  the  will  of  God. 
And  he  who  loves  humanity  regards  all  men,  both  good  and  bad, 
as  his  brothers.  The  sentiment  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  pseudo- 
lesous  is  ignoble. 

Chapter  iv.  1-9 

I  And  again  he  began  to  teach  beside  the  sea.  And  a  very 
large  crowd  came  together  to  him,  so  that  he  entered  into  the 
ship  and  seated  himself  in  the  sea;  and  all  the  crowd  were  on 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  499 

the  land  close  to  the  sea.    2  And  he  taught  them  many  things 
in  allegories,  and  in  his  teaching  said  to  them: 

3  "Hear  ye!  Behold,  the  sower  went  out  to  sow:  4  and  it 
befell  that  as  he  sowed  some  [of  the  seed]  fell  beside  the  road, 
and  the  birds  came  and  ate  it  up;  5  and  other  fell  on  the 
rocky  [places],  where  it  had  not  much  soil,  and  immediately  it 
sprang  up,  because  it  had  no  depth  of  soil,  6  and  when  the 
sun  had  risen  it  was  scorched;  and  because  it  had  no  root,  it 
withered  away.  7  And  other  fell  among  the  thorns,  and  the 
thorns  grew  up  and  choked  it,  and  it  yielded  no  fruit.  8  And 
other  fell  into  the  good  soil,  and  yielded  fruit,  springing  up  and 
growing,  and  bore,  one  thirty,  another  sixty,  and  another  a 
hundredfold."  9  And  he  said,  "He  who  has  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear,  [[and  who  has  understanding,  let  him  understand]]." 

COMMENTARY 

Of  the  "many  things"  lesous  is  said  to  have  taught  the  multitude 
on  this  occasion,  only  the  allegory  of  the  sower  is  given;  and  it  is 
brought  in  abruptly,  with  no  introduction,  and  nothing  to  indicate 
to  the  hearers  that  it  is  an  allegory. 

Ch.  IV.  10-20 

10  And  when  he  happened  to  be  alone,  the  men  about  him, 
with  the  twelve,  asked  him  about  the  allegory.  1 1  And  he  said 
to  them : 

"It  has  been  permitted  you  to  know  the  mystery  of  the  king- 
dom of  God ;  but  to  the  exotericists  the  whole  subject  is  couched 
in  allegories,     12  that 

'Seeing,  they  may  sec,  and  yet  not  have  insight. 

And  hearing,  they  may  hear,  and  yet  not  understand. 

Lest  ever  they  shouhi  be  made  to  repent,  and  their  sins  be 
forgiven.'  " 

13  And  says  he  to  them  : 

"Do  you  not  see  into  this  allegory?  And  how  will  you  under- 
stand all  the  allegories?  14  The  sower  sows  the  arcane  doctrine. 
15  And  these  are  the   [seeds]   beside  the  road,  w'here  the  arcane 


500  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

doctrine  is  sown ;  and  when  they  hear,  immediately  comes  the 
Adversary  and  takes  away  the  arcane  doctrine  that  has  been  sown  in 
their  hearts.  i6  And  these  are,  in  hke  manner,  the  [seeds]  sown 
in  the  rocky  [places],  who,  when  they  hear  the  arcane  doctrine, 
immediately  with  joy  receive  it ;  17  and  they  have  no  root  in  them- 
selves, but  are  transient;  then,  w^hen  because  of  the  arcane  doctrine 
an  ordeal  or  a  persecution  befalls,  immediately  they  are  tripped  up. 
18  And  others  are  the  [seeds]  sown  among  the  thorns;  these  are 
the  ones  who  hear  the  arcane  doctrine,  19  and  the  cares  of  this 
life,  and  the  delusion  of  wealth,  and  the  longing  for  other  things, 
entering  in,  choke  the  arcane  doctrine,  and  it  becomes  unfruitful. 
20  And  those  are  the  [seeds]  which  have  been  sown  on  good  soil ; 
such  hear  the  arcane  doctrine  and  accept  it,  and  bear  fruit,  thirty, 
sixty  and  a  hundredfold." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  lesous  speaks  of  the  exotericists,  "those  outside" ;  and 
presumably  "those  around  him,  with  the  twelve,"  were  esotericists, 
as  they  were  privileged  to  hear  him  elucidate  the  allegory.  But 
when  the  pseudo-Iesous  of  the  forgers  asserts  that  the  truth  is  con- 
cealed from  men  for  fear  that  they  may  repent  and  be  forgiven  he 
is  uttering  nonsense ;  and  he  misquotes  and  falsifies  the  Jewish 
scriptures.  The  passage  in  Isaiah  (vi.  9)  from  which  the  quotation 
is  taken  reads :  "Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand  not ;  and  see  ye, 
but  perceive  not  .   .  .  lest  they  .   .   .  turn  again,  and  be  healed." 

Christianity,  unlike  the  older  religions,  had  no  esotericism,  or 
sacred  science ;  it  was  framed  by  exoteric  priests  to  impose  upon  the 
rabble,  and  is,  at  best,  but  a  chaos  of  futile  speculations  and  irra- 
tional dogmas.  That  even  its  originators,  the  charlatans  who  com- 
piled the  Gospels,  were  ignorant  of  the  inner  meaning  of  the 
allegories  contained  in  the  lesous-mythos  which  they  "historicized," 
is  shown  by  their  exegesis  of  the  allegory  of  the  sower.  The  ex- 
planation, which  they  have  impudently  placed  in  the  mouth  of 
lesous,  is  a  bit  of  muddled  theology,  and  it  does  not  touch  upon  the 
esoteric  meaning.  The  pseudo-exegetist  neglects  to  state  who  the 
sower  is,  but  explains  that  the  sower  sows  the  doctrine,  and  tha^ 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  501 

the  seeds  sown  are  the  hearers.  Thus  the  seeds  (the  doctrine)  are 
sown  in  the  seeds  (the  hearers),  which  is  certainly  a  curious  inter- 
pretation !  The  predacious  birds  are  Satan,  who  does  not  devour 
the  doctrine,  but  takes  it  away  from  the  hearers  by  the  wayside ; 
and  necessarily  the  roadside,  the  rocky  places,  the  thorns  and  the 
good  soil  are  to  be  regarded  as  being  in  the  hearts  of  the  hearers — 
who  are  the  seeds !  The  hearers  who  are  sown  on  the  rocky  places 
stumble  because  they  have  no  root  in  themselves.  The  interpreta- 
tion bristles  with  absurdities. 

Ch.  IV.  21-25 

21   And  he  said  to  them : 

"Is  the  lamp  brought  that  it  may  be  put  under  the  grain- 
measure,  or  under  the  bed,  not  that  it  may  be  put  on  the  lamp- 
stand?  22  For  nothing  is  really  concealed  unless  it  has  an  il- 
lusory seeming,  nor  has  any  [arcane  doctrine]  been  presented 
obscurely,  but  that  it  should  become  evident.  23  If  any  one  has 
ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

24  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Consider  what  you  hear :  by  the  rule  which  you  use  in  meas- 
uring will  [truth]  be  measured  to  you;  and  to  you  who  hear, 
further  [truth]  will  be  added:  25  for  [truth]  shall  be  given  to 
him  who  has  it,  but  even  that  which  he  has  shall  be  taken  away 
from  him  who  does  not  [really]  have  it." 

COMMENTARY 

The  sense  of  verse  22  apparently  depends  upon  a  play  on  the 
dual  meaning  of  phancros,  "known,"  and  "only  apparent,"  or 
"seeming."  The  phenomena  of  life  veil  or  conceal  realities;  and 
the  object  in  stating  truths  in  allegories  is  to  train  the  disciple  to 
exercise  the  intuitive  faculty,  so  as  to  discern  profound  truths  and 
subjective  realities.  However,  the  words  may  be  taken  in  the  same 
sense  as  in  Luke  viii.  17 — in  which  case  the  statement  is  merely  an 
absurdity. 

The  beautiful  aphorism  concerning  the  measure  of  truth  is  cor- 
rectly stated,  though  the  mutilators  of  the  text  have  here,  as  in 


502  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

other  instances,  expunged  the  word  "truth,"  or  "knowledge" ;  but 
in  Matthczv  and  Luke  the  saying  is  garbled  and  misapplied.  Its 
meaning  hinges  upon  reincarnation :  intuitive  knowledge  is  perma- 
nent, while  false  learning  is  lost  between  incarnations. 

Ch.  IV.  26-32 

26  And  he  said  : 

"Thus  is  the  kingdom  o£  God :  it  is  as  if  a  man  should  scatter 
seed  broadcast  on  the  earth;  27  and  should  sleep  and  rise, 
night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should  sprout  and  grow  up,  he 
knows  not  how.  28  For  the  earth  bears  fruit  spontaneously, 
first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  then  the  plump  grain  on  the  ear; 
29  and  when  the  fruit  presents  itself  immediately  'he  puts  forth  the 
sickle,  for  the  harvest  has  come.'  " 

30  And  he  said : 

"How  shall  we  draw  a  comparison  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  in  what  allegory  shall  we  exemplify  it?  31  It  is  like  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  which,  when  it  has  been  sown  upon  the  earth, 
is  the  smallest  of  all  the  seeds  which  are  on  the  earth ;  32  but 
when  it  has  been  sown  it  springs  up  and  becomes  greater  than 
all  the  herbs,  and  spreads  out  great  branches,  'so  that  the  birds  of 
the  sky'  can  'take  shelter  under  its  shadow.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

The  statement  in  verses  26  and  27  is  an  introduction  to  the  al- 
legory of  the  sower;  but,  as  it  does  not  harmonize  with  the  at- 
tempted explanation  of  the  allegory,  the  astute  forger  severed  it 
from  its  context,  and  essayed  a  separate  explanation  of  it.  His 
assertion  that  "the  earth  is  spontaneous"  (automate)  in  producing 
plant-life  is  erroneous,  as  are  also  his  exaggerated  statements  about 
the  mustard  seed  being  the  smallest  of  all  seeds,  and  about  the 
prodigious  growth  of  the  plant.  As  it  is  extremely  unlikely  that 
these  foolish  misstatements  could  have  been  made  by  the  original 
author  of  the  superb  allegory,  they  must  be  attributed  to  the  ig- 
norant priests  who  have  smothered  the  text  with  their  execrable 
efforts  at  literature. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  503 

Ch.  IV.  33-41 

33  And  he  used  to  divulge  to  them  the  arcane  teaching  with 
many  such  allegories,  according  as  they  were  able  to  hear  it ;  34 
but  other  than  by  allegory  he  did  not  divulge  it  to  them ;  yet  pri- 
vately he  used  to  disclose  all  things  to  his  disciples. 

35  And  on  that  day,  when  evening  came,  he  says  to  them: 
"Let  us  go  over  to  the  other  side." 

36  And  having  dismissed  the  crowd,  they  take  him  with 
them,  just  as  he  was,  in  the  ship;  and  other  [[little]]  ships  were 
wnth  him.  ^y  And  a  violent  wind-storm  arose,  and  the  waves 
dashed  against  the  ship,  so  that  it  was  already  filled.  38  And 
he  was  in  the  stem,  sleeping  on  the  cushion;  and  they  awaken 
him  and  say  to  him : 

"Teacher,  does  it  not  concern  you  that  we  are  perishing?" 
39  And  he  awoke  and  reproved  the  wind,  and  said  to  the  sea : 
"Keep  quiet;  gag  yourself!" 

And  the  wind  fell,  and  there  came  to  be  a  great  calm.  40  And 
he  said  to  them  : 

"Why  are  you  cowardly?    Do  you  not  yet  have  faith?'' 

41   And  they  were  greatly  terrified,  and  said  one  to  another: 

"Who  then  is  this,  that  even  the  wind  and  the  sea  obey  him?" 

COMMENTARY 

Unwittingly,  but  very  noticeably,  the  forgers  have  delineated  in 
the  text  their  own  ignoble  traits  of  character.  As  pictured  by  them, 
the  disciples  of  lesous  are  unintelligent,  cowardly  and  superstitious. 
The  people  are  likewise  stupid,  timid  and  blindly  credulous ;  yet 
despite  their  over-credulity  they  are  constantly  falling  into  trans- 
ports of  terror  and  amazement.  Even  the  puppet  Pharisees  are  not 
true  to  life,  though  they  are  the  only  characters  whom  the  forgers 
could  have  made  realistic ;  for,  to  do  so,  the  forgers  had  only  to 
portray  themselves,  yet  they  shrank  from  thus  baring  their  own 
dark  souls.  In  the  original  pagan  drama  the  disciples  no  doubt  had 
the  manly  virtues ;  but  in  the  falsified  text  they  are  seen  through  the 
eyes  of  the  despicable  forgers,  who  were  incapable  of  picturing  true 


504  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

manliness.     Here  they  represent  the  disciples  as  being  cowardly 
through  lack  of  "faith,"  as  if  courage  depended  upon  credulity. 

The  statement  in  verse  36  that  "other  ships  were  with  him"  is 
omitted  by  Matthezv  and  Luke.  Either  these  other  ships  would 
have  foundered,  or  if  they  had  weathered  the  storm  would  have 
shown  that  the  miracle  performed  by  lesous  was  needless. 

Chapter  v.  1-2  i 

I  And  to  the  other  side  of  the  sea  they  came,  to  the  country 
of  the  Gerasenes.  2  And  when  he  had  come  out  of  the  ship, 
immediately  there  met  him  out  of  the  tombs  a  man  [possessed] 
by  an  unclean  spirit,  3  who  had  his  dwelling  among  the  tombs ; 
and  not  even  with  chains  was  any  one  able  to  bind  him :  4  be- 
cause he  had  often  been  bound  with  chains  and  fetters,  and  the 
chains  had  been  burst  by  him,  and  the  fetters  shattered;  and 
no  one  was  strong  enough  to  subdue  him.  5  And  always,  night 
and  day,  among  the  tombs  and  in  the  mountains  he  was  scream- 
ing and  gashing  himself  with  stones.  6  And  when  he  saw 
lesous  from  afar,  he  ran  and  prostrated  himself  before  him; 
7  and  screaming  with  a  loud  voice  he  said : 

"What  matters  it  to  you  and  to  me,  lesous,  son  of  the  highest 
God?  By  that  God  I  adjure  you  not  to  torment  me."  8  (For  he 
was  saying  to  him,  "Unclean  spirit,  come  forth  out  of  the 
man.") 

9  And  he  asked  him : 
"What  is  your  name  ?" 
And  he  answered,  saying : 

"My  name  is  Legion;  for  we  are  many." 

10  And  they  kept  imploring  him  much  that  he  would  not 
send  them  away  out  of  that  rural  region.  11  Now,  there  was 
there,  hard  by  the  mountain,  a  great  herd  of  swine  feeding; 
1 2  and  they  implored  him,  saying : 

"Send  us  into  the  swine,  that  we  may  enter  into  them." 
1 3  And  lesous  permitted  them ;  and  the  unclean  spirits  came 
out  of  [the  man]  and  entered  into  the  swine,  and  the  herd, 
[numlicring]  about  two  thousand,  rushed  down  the  precipitous 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  505 

slope  into  the  sea,  and  were  choked  in  the  sea.  14  And  the 
herdsmen  of  the  swine  fled,  and  told  it  in  the  city  and  in  the 
country.  And  they  came  to  see  what  it  is  that  has  taken  place. 
15  And  they  come  to  lesous,  and  behold  the  spirit-possessed 
man  sitting  clothed  and  restored  to  his  senses,  the  [very  man] 
who  had  harbored  the  legion;  and  they  were  afraid.  16  And 
the  spectators  narrated  to  them  how  it  had  befallen  the  spirit- 
possessed  man,  and  concerning  the  swine.  17  And  they  began 
to  implore  him  to  depart  from  their  borders.  18  And  when  he 
was  entering  the  ship,  the  man  who  had  been  spirit-possessed 
implored  him  that  he  might  be  with  him;  19  but  lesous  did 
not  permit  him,  but  says  to  him  : 

"Go  to  your  house  to  your  kindred,  and  tell  them  all  the  things 
the  Master  has  done  for  you,  and  [how]  he  pitied  you." 

20  And  he  departed,  and  began  to  proclaim  in  Dekapolis  all  the 
things  lesous  had  done  for  him ;  and  all  men  wondered. 

21  And  when  lesous  had  gone  across  again  in  the  ship  to  the 
other  side,  a  great  crowd  congregated  to  him;  and  he  was  beside 
the  sea. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Gerasenes  are  given  elsewhere  in  the  text  as  Gergesenes  and 
Gadarenes.  As  they  are  utterly  unknown  to  history,  it  is  imma- 
terial how  the  name  was  spelled. 

The  compiler  of  Mark  occasionally  lapses  into  Latin,  as  here, 
where  he  uses  the  word  legion,  the  Latin  legio.  The  word  must 
therefore  be  regarded  as  a  substitute  for  a  term  in  Greek  mythology 
which  would  be  out  of  place  in  a  Jewish  "history."  Possibly  the 
unclean  spirits  called  themselves  panes,  "fauns,"  as  they  implored 
lesous  not  to  banish  them  from  the  rural  region  (■^copa).  Finding 
no  satisfactory  Hebraic  substitute  for  pan  ("all"),  the  inspired 
compiler  hit  upon  the  Latin  legio  as  conveying  the  notion  of  a  large 
number.  But,  whatever  they  may  have  called  themselves,  the  spirits 
were  simply  the  shades  of  the  dead.  The  covert  admiration  of  the 
forgers  for  these  "unclean  spirits"  again  betrays  itself :  for  here, 
as  always,  lesous  was  promptly  recognized  by  the  unclean  spirits 


5o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

as  the  son  of  God.     Here  the  spirits  are  polytheists:  in  speaking  of 
the  "highest  God"  they  imply  that  there  were  lower  Gods. 

Ch.  v.  22-43 

22  And  comes  to  him  one  of  the  synagogue-rulers,  laeiros  by 
name,  and  seeing  him,  falls  at  his  feet,  2:iy  and  implores  him 
much,  saying: 

"My  little  daughter  is  at  the  point  of  death ;  1  [beseech  you] 
that  you  come  and  lay  your  hands  on  her,  so  that  she  may  be 
cured,  and  be  restored  to  life." 

24  And  he  departed  with  him;  and  a  great  crowd  went  along 
with  him,  and  they  jostled  him.  25  And  a  woman  who  for 
twelve  years  had  an  issue  of  blood,  26  and  had  undergone 
many  [treatments]  under  many  physicians,  and  was  not  at  all 
benefited  but  rather  grew  worse,  27  having  heard  the  [re- 
ports] concerning  lesous,  came  in  the  crowd  behind  and 
touched  his  mantle.    28  For  she  kept  saying : 

"I  shall  be  cured  if  I  touch  but  his  outer  garments." 

29  And  immediately  the  fount  of  her  blood  was  dried  up,  and 
she  knew  in  her  body  that  she  was  healed  of  her  scourge.  30 
And  immediately  lesous,  perceiving  in  himself  that  his  exodic 
force  had  gone  forth,  turned  about  in  the  crowd  and  said : 

"Who  touched  my  outer  garments?" 

31  And  his  disciples  said  to  him : 

"You  see  the  crowd  jostling  you,  and  you  say,  'Who  touched 
mc^ 

32  And  he  looked  around  to  see  her  who  had  done  this.  33 
But  the  woman,  frightened  and  trembling,  knowing  what  had 
happened  to  her,  came  and  fell  down  before  him,  and  told  him 
the  whole  truth. 

34  And  he  said  to  her : 

"Daughter,  your  faith  has  saved  you;  go  in  peace,  and  be 
healed  of  your  scourge." 

35  While  he  is  yet  speaking,  they  come  from  the  synagogue- 
ruler's  house,  saying : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  507 

"Your  daughter  is  dead:  why  do  you  still  trouble  the 
Teacher?" 

36  But  lesous,  disregarding  the  spoken  word,  said  to  the 
synagogue-ruler : 

"Fear  not;  only  believe." 

37  And  he  did  not  permit  any  one  to  accompany  him  except 
Petros,  lakobos  and  loannes,  the  brother  of  lakobos.  38  And 
they  come  to  the  house  of  the  synagogue-ruler,  and  he  beholds 
a  commotion,  [people]  weeping  and  wailing  greatly.  39  And 
having  entered,  he  says  to  them : 

"Why  do  you  make  a  commotion,  and  weep?  The  girl  is  not 
dead,  but  is  sleeping." 

40  And  they  laughed  at  him  scornfully.  But  he,  having  put 
them  all  out.  takes  with  him  the  father  of  the  girl  and  her 
mother  and  the  [three  disciples]  who  are  with  him,  and  goes  in 
where  the  girl  was.  41  And  having  grasped  the  girl's  hand,  he 
says  to  her : 

"Talcitha  koiim,"  that  is.  when  translated,  "Little  girl,  I  sav 
to  you,  Awake." 

42  And  immediately  the  little  girl  rose  up  and  walked;  for 
she  was  twelve  years  old.  And  they  were  immediately 
astounded  with  great  amazement.  43  And  he  charged  them 
vehemently  that  no  one  should  know  this;  and  he  said  that 
[something]  should  be  given  her  to  eat. 

COMMENTARY 

Had  the  forgers  perceived  that  these  two  "miracles"  apply  alle- 
gorically  to  the  esoteric  and  the  exoteric  doctrines,  they  would  have 
exercised  their  peculiar  literary  talents  in  mutilating  the  story 
beyond  recognition.  Thanks  to  their  obtuseness,  it  retains  its 
graphic  simplicity.  Of  course  they  had  to  give  the  story  a  Jewish 
tinge,  and  to  the  ignorant  Taleitha  koiiin  is  certainly  very  con- 
vincing, even  if  it  is  bad  Hebrew,  or,  strictly  speaking,  not  Hebrew 
at  all.  Incidentally  the  discredited  loudas  had  to  be  expunged  from 
the  text,  and  Simon's  name  written  in.  Also  the  usual  thrills  of 
amazement  had  to  be  mentioned ;  no  conscientious  amateur  writer 


5o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  fiction  would  neglect  that,  for  fear  of  weakening  the  dramatic 
effect,  or  of  placing  too  severe  a  strain  upon  the  imagination  and 
intelligence  of  the  reader. 

According  to  Mark  nearly  everything  happened  "immediately." 
A  writer  who  was  recording  events  that  had  actually  taken  place, 
especially  if  they  had  fallen  under  his  own  observation  during  a 
protracted  period  of  time,  would  not  be  apt  to  use  this  expression 
"immediately"  so  frequently;  but  an  uncultured  man,  who  was  writ- 
ing down  from  memory  the  quickly  moving  events  in  a  drama 
which  he  had  been  witnessing,  would  naturally  retain  the  impression 
of  rapid  action,  and  therefore  employ  the  word  "immediately"  con- 
stantly, as  it  is  found  in  the  text. 

Chapter  vi.  i-6 

I  And  he  departed  from  there,  and  comes  to  his  native 
[city]  ;  and  his  disciples  go  along  with  him.  2  And  when  it 
was  the  sabbath  he  began  to  teach  in  the  synagogue.  And  the 
many  hearers  were  astounded,  saying : 

"From  what  source  does  this  [man]  have  these  things?  And 
what  is  the  learning  that  has  been  given  him,  and  [whence 
come]  powers  such  as  these  that  are  effected  by  means  of  his 
hands?  3  Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the  son  of  Mariam,  and 
brother  of  lakobos,  loses,  loudas  and  Simon?  And  are  not  his 
sisters  here  with  us?" 

And  they  were  offended  at  him.    4  But  lesous  said  to  them : 

"A  seer  is  not  dishonored,  save  in  his  native  [city],  and 
among  his  kinsfolk  and  in  his  own  house." 

5  And  he  was  not  able  to  exert  any  power  there,  save  that  he 
laid  his  hands  on  a  few  infirm  persons  and  healed  them.  6  And 
he  wondered  because  of  their  unbelief.  And  he  went  about  the 
villages  in  a  circuit,  teaching. 

COMMENTARY 

The  genuineness  of  this  clever  little  incident  may  be  relied  upon 
for  two  reasons :  the  forgers  had  not  the  ability  to  invent  it,  and  it 
contains  the  names  (only  one  of  them  being  disguised  and  that  but 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  509 

slightly)  of  four  of  the  brothers  of  lesous  who  were  also  his  dis- 
ciples. The  names  of  Andreas  (which  is  purely  Greek)  and  of  the 
seven  sisters  were,  no  doubt,  in  the  original  text;  but  of  course  the 
forgers  could  not  suffer  them  to  remain,  for  "Andreas"  was  an 
awkward  name  to  disguise,  and  apparently  there  was  a  mystery 
about  the  sisters  of  lesous  which  the  forgers  deemed  it  prudent  not 
to  divulge.  In  Greek  mythology  seven  sisters,  the  Hesperides, 
guarded  the  Pole-tree  with  its  golden  apples,  and  groups  of  seven 
sisters  appear  in  various  guises. 

The  frank  admission  that  the  healing  ^•irtue  of  the  Son  of  God 
was  powerless  against  the  un faith  of  a  few  ignorant  and  feeble 
mortals  seems  to  indicate  that  the  originators  of  the  new  religion 
had  not  yet  formulated  their  theology  very  definitely. 

Ch.  VI.  7-13 

7  And  he  calls  to  him  the  twelve,  and  began  to  send  them 
forth  two  by  two  ;  and  he  gave  them  authority  over  the  unclean 
spirits.  8  And  he  charged  them  that  they  should  take  nothing 
for  the  road  except  a  staff  only,  no  provision-bag,  no  bread,  no 
money  in  their  belt;  9  but  [to  be]  shod  with  sandals,  and  put 
not  on  two  tunics.    10  And  said  he  to  them: 

"Wherever  you  enter  into  a  house,  stay  there  until  you  de- 
part thence.  1 1  And  whatever  place  will  not  receive  you,  and 
[its  residents]  will  not  listen  to  you,  as  you  depart  from  there 
shake  off  the  dust  which  is  under  your  feet,  for  a  testimony  to 
them.  [[Amen,  I  say  to  you.  It  shall  be  more  endurable  for 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  dav  of  judgment  than  for  that 
city.]]" 

12  And  they  went  out  and  proclaimed  that  [the  people]  should 
reform.  13  And  they  cast  out  many  spirits,  and  anointed  with  oil 
many  infirm  persons,  and  cured  them. 

COMMENTARY 

In  this  passage  "the  twelve"  have  been  fraudulently  substituted 
for  the  seventy-two ;  and  the  passage  has  been  severed  from  the  first 
half  of  verse  19,  ch.  iii.     Here  and  elsewhere  the  forgers  have  at- 


510  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tempted  to  conceal  the  fact  that  the  thirty-six  couples  (sycygies) 
are  Mercury- Venuses ;  but  they  have  left  sufficient  evidence  in  the 
text  to  show  it  quite  clearly.  lesous,  after  sending  out  his  seventy- 
two  paired  messengers,  goes  on  a  picnic  with  his  twelve  com- 
panions ;  but,  as  the  seventy-two  have  been  eliminated  from  Mark, 
the  twelve  have  to  be  sent  out  in  their  stead,  and  so  the  outing  has 
to  be  postponed  until  their  return.  The  gap  left  in  the  narrative  by 
this  unskilful  device  was  left  unfilled,  but  while  waiting  for  the  re- 
turn of  "the  twelve,"  whom  he  had  thus  surreptitiously  sent  out, 
the  "historian"  busied  himself  with  writing  an  implausible  fiction 
about  the  beheading  of  loannes  the  Lustrator,  which  serves  to  dis- 
tract the  attention  of  the  reader  until  the  missent  twelve  return  for 
the  picnic. 

Ch.  VI.  14-29 

14  And  King  Herod  heard  [of  lesous  the  Healer]  ;  for  his  name 
had  become  famous,  and  they  were  saying,  "loannes  the  Lustrator 
is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  because  of  this  the  forces  energize  in 
him."  15  But  others  said,  "It  is  Elijah."  And  others  said,  "[[It 
is]]  a  seer  [wJw  Jias  reincarnated,  and  he  is]  like  one  of  the  seers 
[of  old]."     16  But  Herod,  when  he  heard  [of  him],  said: 

"loannes,  whom  I  beheaded,  he  is  risen." 

17  For  Herod  himself  had  sent  out  [retainers]  and  had  seized 
loannes,  and  bound  him  in  prison,  on  account  of  Herodias,  his 
brother  Philip's  wife,  because  he  had  married  her.  18  For  loannes 
said  to  Herod : 

"It  is  unlawful  for  you  to  marry  your  brother's  wife." 

19  And  Herodias  kept  cherishing  a  grudge  against  him,  and 
wished  to  kill  him;  but  she  could  not.  20  For  Herod  feared 
loannes,  knowing  him  to  be  a  just  and  holy  man,  and  protected 
him ;  and  when  he  heard  him  he  wavered  and  listened  to  him  gladly. 
21  And  when  it  happened  to  be  an  opportune  day,  when  Herod  on 
his  birthday  made  a  dinner  to  his  field-marshals,  generals  and  first- 
fighters  of  Galilee,  22  and  the  daughter  of  Herodias  herself  had 
come  in,  and  had  danced  and  pleased  Herod  and  those  who  reclined 
[at  table]  with  him,  the  king  said  to  the  little  girl : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  511 

"Ask  of  me  anything  you  wish,  and  I  shall  give  it  to  you." 

23  And  he  swore  to  her : 

"I  shall  give  you  whatever  you  may  ask  of  me,  even  to  the  half 
of  my  kingdom." 

24  And  she  went  out  and  said  to  her  mother : 
"What  shall  I  ask?" 

And  she  said : 

"The  head  of  loannes  the  Lustrator." 

25  And  immediately  she  came  in  haste  to  the  king  and  asked, 
saying : 

"I  wish  that  you  give  me  at  once  on  a  dish  the  head  of  loannes  the 
Lustrator." 

26  And  [although]  the  king  was  deeply  grieved,  on  account  of 
his  oaths  and  of  [his  guests]  reclining  with  [him  at  table]  he 
would  not  slight  her.  27  And  immediately  the  king  sent  a  guards- 
man and  ordered  him  to  bring  his  head ;  and  he  went  and  beheaded 
him  in  the  prison,  28  and  brought  his  head  on  a  dish  and  gave  it 
to  the  little  girl,  and  the  little  girl  gave  it  to  her  mother.  29  And 
his  disciples,  when  they  heard  [of  it] ,  came  and  took  up  his  corpse 
and  laid  it  in  a  tomb. 

COMMENTARY 

This  doleful  tale  of  the  decapitation  of  the  Hierophant  of  the 
Water-rite  begins  at  the  wrong  end,  lacks  every  element  of  plau- 
sibility, contains  glaring  historical  misstatements,  and  is  open  to 
the  charge  of  plagiarism ;  while  its  peculiarities  of  wording  and 
literary  style  differentiate  it  from  the  main  body  of  the  text,  and 
show  clearly  that  it  is  an  unskilful  forgery.  It  is  wedged  into  the 
text  at  a  place  where  a  gap  was  left  after  expunging  the  passage 
concerning  the  seventy-two  messengers.  Herod,  according  to  this 
absurd  story,  became  intimately  acquainted  with  loannes,  "listened 
to  him  gladly,"  and  almost  became  his  disciple ;  yet  not  till  after  he 
had  put  to  death  this  forerunner  whom  he  held  in  awe  as  "a  just 
and  holy  man,"  did  he  hear  of  lesous.  He  then  rejects  the  theory 
that  lesous  is  one  of  the  ancient  seers  reincarnated,  and  clings  to 
the  impossible  theory  that  loannes,  whose  head  has  been  cut  off. 


512  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

has  risen  from  the  dead!  The  head  of  loannes  had  been  carried 
away  on  a  dish,  and  given  into  the  safe-keeping  of  his  enemy, 
Herodias,  so  that  his  resurrection  would  be  a  difficult  matter  even 
in  an  age  of  miracles.  Anyway,  Herod  could  easily  have  obtained 
a  description  of  the  personal  appearance  of  lesous,  who  was  known 
to  so  many.  As  to  the  historical  blunders  in  the  story,  Herod  was 
not  a  king,  but  was  only  a  tetrarch ;  he  did  not  marry  his  brother 
Philip's  wife  (whose  name  was  Salome),  but  the  wife  of  another 
brother,  also  named  Herod ;  and  the  three  were  really  only  half- 
brothers.  In  making  "King"  Herod  promise  the  half  of  his  "king- 
dom" to  a  young  lady  who  had  pleased  him  at  a  banquet,  the  forgers 
have  unblushingly  stolen  and  inartistically  utilized  an  incident  in 
the  story  of  Esther  (vii),  in  which  King  Ahasuerus,  at  a  banquet, 
promised  Queen  Esther,  who  had  found  favor  in  his  sight,  anything 
she  might  request,  even  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom — with  the  result 
that  Haman  was  hanged.  The  reference  to  loannes  in  Josephus 
{Antiquities,  xviii.  5.  2)  is  unquestionably  a  forgery,  as  are  also  the 
passages  mentioning  lesous  and  his  brother  lakobos.  The  words 
haptistcs  and  baptismos,  which  belong  exclusively  to  the  Greek  of 
the  Nezv  Testament,  are  used  in  the  forgery  concerning  loannes 
"the  Baptist"  which  is  found  in  the  text  of  Josephus;  that  fact 
alone  sufficiently  shows  that  the  passage  is  spurious. 

Ch.  VI.  30-44 

30  And  the  apostles  gathered  together  to  lesous,  and  re- 
ported to  him  all  things,  whatever  they  had  done  and  whatever 
they  had  taught.     31   And  he  says  to  them: 

"Come  you  yourselves  apart  to  a  desert  place  and  take  a  little 
rest." 

For  there  were  man}^  who  were  coming  and  going,  and  they  had 
no  opportunity  even  to  eat.  32  And  they  went  away  in  the 
ship  to  a  desert  place  apart.  33  And  the  crowds  saw  them 
going,  and  many  recognized  [him] ;  and  together  they  ran  there 
on  foot  from  all  the  cities,  and  outwent  them.  34  And  he  came 
out  [of  the  ship]  and  saw  a  great  crowd,  and  his  heart  went  out 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  513 

to  them,  because  they  were  "like  sheep  not  having  a  shepherd" ; 
and  he  began  to  teach  them  many  things.  35  And  when  the 
hour  was  late,  came  to  him  his  disciples  and  said  to  him : 

"The  place  is  desert,  and  already  the  hour  is  late ;  36  dismiss 
them,  that  they  may  go  to  the  country  and  villages  round  about, 
and  buy  for  themselves  something  to  eat." 

T,y  But  he  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Do  you  give  them  [something]  to  eat." 

And  they  say  to  him  : 

"Shall  we  go  and  buy  bread  to  the  value  of  two  hundred 
denarii,  and  give  them  to  eat?" 

38  And  he  says  to  them  : 

"How  many  loaves  have  you?  Go  and  see." 
And  when  they  had  ascertained  it.  they  say: 
"Five,  and  two  fishes." 

39  And  he  ordered  them  to  make  all  recline  in  mess-parties 
on  the  fresh  greensward.  40  And  they  sat  down  in  mess-par- 
ties, like  flower-beds,  by  hundreds  and  by  fifties.  41  And  he 
took  the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fishes,  and  having  looked  up 
to  the  sky  he  blessed  the  loaves  and  broke  [them]  in  pieces,  and 
gave  [them]  to  his  disciples,  to  set  before  them;  and  the  two 
fishes  he  divided  among  them  all.  42  And  they  all  ate  and  were 
satisfied.  43  And  they  took  up  the  broken  fragments,  twelve 
hand-basketfuls,  and  also  of  the  fishes.  44  And  those  who  ate 
of  the  loaves  were  five  thousand  men. 

COMMENTARY 

The  twelve  companions  of  lesous,  who  are  not  "apostles"  and 
are  not  "sent  forth,"  have  no  report  to  make;  they  go  with  lesous 
on  a  picnic.  The  "apostles"  are  the  thirty-six  couples  (Mercury- 
Venuses),  who  report  to  lesous  upon  their  return.  By  comparing 
the  text  of  Mark  with  that  of  Luke,  the  alterations  that  have  been 
made  by  the  unskilful  forgers  are  easily  traced.  The  mess-parties, 
instead  of  being  arranged  "by  hundreds  and  by  fifties,"  should  con- 
sist of  forty-nine  parties  of  one  hundred  each ;  and  the  multitude 
should  number  fortv-nine  hundred.     The  words  "also  of  the  fishes" 


514  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

are  probably  from  the  pen  of  a  peculiarly  dull-witted  interpolator 
who  has  inserted  many  similar  stupid  "emendations"  in  the  text. 

Cii.  VI.  45-56 

45  And  immediately  he  compelled  his  disciples  to  enter  into  the 
ship,  and  to  go  before  [him]  to  the  other  side,  to  Bethsaida,  until 
he  should  send  away  the  crowd.  46  And  having  taken  leave  of 
them,  he  went  away  to  the  mountain  to  pray.  47  And  when  even- 
ing came,  the  ship  was  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  he  was  alone  on 
the  land.  48  And  seeing  them  harassed  in  rowing,  for  the  wind 
was  contrary  to  them,  about  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  he  comes 
to  them,  walking  on  the  sea,  and  would  have  outstripped  them; 
49  but  they,  seeing  him  walking  on  the  sea,  supposed  that  he  was  a 
spectre,  and  raised  guttural  cries ;  50  for  they  all  saw  him  and 
"were  thrown  into  consternation.  But  immediately  he  spoke  with 
them,  and  says  to  them : 

"Take  courage  :  it  is  I.    Fear  not." 

5 1  And  he  got  into  the  ship  to  them ;  and  the  wind  lulled.  And 
they  were  very  much  amazed  in  themselves ;  52  for  they  had  not 
understood  in  respect  to  the  loaves,  but  their  heart  was  callous. 

53  And  having  crossed  over  to  the  land,  they  reached  Gennesaret, 
and  came  to  anchor.  54  And  when  they  had  come  out  of  the  ship, 
immediately  [the  people]  recognized  him,  55  and  ran  about  that 
whole  neighboring  country,  and  began  to  carry  about  the  invalids 
on  their  litters  w^here  they  w-ere  hearing  that  he  was.  56  And 
whenever  he  entered  into  villages,  or  cities,  or  fields,  they  laid  those 
who  were  sickly  in  the  market-places,  and  implored  him  that  they 
might  touch  if  only  the  hem  of  his  mantle;  and  as  many  as  touched 
it  were  cured. 

COMMENTARY 

From  the  beginning  of  this  passage,  at  verse  45,  down  to  viii.  21, 
inclusive,  there  is  nothing  but  the  work  of  the  priest- forgers,  who 
have,  with  amazing  lack  of  originality,  padded  out  the  text  with 
material  copied  from  other  portions  of  it,  but  disfigured  by  mean- 
ingless variations.     Nearly  all  of  this  spurious  matter  is  slavishly 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  515 

copied  in  Matthezv  (xiv.  22  to  xvi.  12),  but  none  of  it  appears  in 
Luke.  This  might  indicate  that  Luke  was  compiled  before,  and 
Matthew  after,  this  interpolation  was  made  in  the  text  of  Mark; 
or  more  probably,  that  the  compiler  of  Luke,  who  was  better  edu- 
cated than  his  predecessors,  rejected  this  duplicate  matter  as  worth- 
less. 

Bethsaida,  if  it  ever  existed,  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Lake  Gennesaret,  but  here  the  forgers  have  placed 
it  on  the  western  shore :  in  fact,  they  have  elsewhere  shifted  it  from 
shore  to  shore,  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  narrative.  Some 
Biblical  scholars  admit  that  the  Synoptists  have  dealt  loosely  with 
geography  by  doing  this ;  but  others  have  overcome  the  ''difficulty" 
by  creating  a  second  Bethsaida,  on  the  pious  theory  that  inspired 
writers  could  not  possibly  have  erred  in  even  so  small  a  matter. 

This  incident  is  merely  a  repetition  of  the  one  in  which  lesous 
stilled  the  tempest :  the  forgers  have  tried  to  improve  upon  the  orig- 
inal by  having  lesous  walk  upon  the  waters;  but  the  story  loses 
much,  and  gains  nothing,  by  the  addition  of  this  aquatic  miracle. 
What  connection  there  might  be  between  this  miracle  and  that  of 
multiplying  the  loaves,  the  interpolator  fails  to  explain,  but  con- 
tents himself  with  saying  that  the  disciples  were  too  obtuse  to  un- 
derstand it. 

Chapter  vri.  1-16 

I  And  near  him  some  of  the  Pharisees  and  some  of  the  scribes 
were  gathered  together,  who  had  come  from  Jerusalem,  2  and  had 
seen  that  some  of  his  disciples  are  eating  their  bread  with  unhal- 
lowed (that  is,  unwashed)  hands.  3  (For  the  Pharisees  and  all  the 
Judseans,  clinging  to  the  tradition  of  the  ancients,  do  not  eat  unless 
they  wash  their  hands  with  the  fist ;  4  and  after  coming  from  the 
marketplace  they  do  not  eat  unless  they  bathe  themselves ;  and  there 
are  many  other  [observances]  which  they  have  traditionally  re- 
ceived to  hold,  baptizings  of  cups,  ewers  and  copper  utensils  [[and 
couches]].)  5  And  the  Pharisees  and  scribes  put  to  him  a  ques- 
tion : 


5i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Why  are  your  disciples  not  walking  according  to  the  tradition  of 
the  ancients,  but  are  eating  their  bread  with  unwashed  hands?" 

6  And  he  answered  and  said  to  them  : 

"Well  did  Isaiah  predict  concerning  you  hypocrites,  as  it  is 
written : 

'This  people  honor  me  with  their  lips, 
But  far  from  me  is  their  heart. 

7  But  they  zvorship  me  fruitlessly, 

Setting  forth  [as  their]  teachings  the  injunctions  of  men.' 
8  Neglecting  the  commandment  of  God,  you  cling  to  the  tradition 
of  men,  [  [baptizings  of  ewers  and  cups,  and  many  other  such  simi- 
lar things  you  do]  ] ." 

9  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"You  set  aside  effectually  the  commandment  of  God,  that  you 
may  observe  your  tradition.  lo  For  Moses  said,  'Honor  your 
father  and  your  mother/  and  'Let  the  reviler  of  father  or  mother 
come  to  his  end  by  the  death-penalty.'  ii  But  you  say,  'If  a  man 
says  to  his  father  or  his  mother,  "That  by  which  you  might  have 
been  helped  by  me  is  Korhan"  '  (that  is,  'a  votive  offering'),  I2 
you  no  longer  permit  him  to  do  anything  for  his  father  or  his 
mother,  13  annulling  the  doctrine  of  God  by  your  tradition  which 
you  have  handed  down;  and  many  such  similar  things  you  do." 

14  And  having  called  to  him  the  crowd  again,  he  said  to  them: 

"Hear  me,  all  of  you,  and  understand:  15  there  is  nothing  from 
outside  the  man  which,  entering  into  him,  can  befoul  him ;  but  the 
[excretions]  issuing  from  the  man,  these  are  the  things  that  befoul 
the  man.     [  [16  If  any  one  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.]  ]" 

COMMENTARY 

The  forger  who  wrote  this  singular  screed  on  the  godliness  of 
being  dirty  has  applied  to  it  lavishly  the  pseudo-Jewish  local  color 
(though  he  lapses  into  a  Latinism),  and  has  quoted  Isaiah  (xxix. 
13)  loosely  and  inaccurately.  The  ceremonial  rites  of  purification 
described  in  the  text  amount  to  no  more  than  the  observance  of 
decent  cleanliness.  In  defending  his  unwashed  disciples,  lesous 
argues  illogically  and  indulges  in  an  irrelevant  tirade  against  the 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  517 

Pharisees  for  clinging  to  a  tradition  which  probably  never  existed 
outside  the  imagination  of  the  forger. 

Ch.  VII.  17-23 

17  And  when  he  had  gone  into  a  house  from  the  crowd,  his  dis- 
ciples asked  him  about  the  allegory.     18  And  he  says  to  them: 

"Are  you  also  so  unenlightened  ?  Do  you  not  perceive  that  every- 
thing which  from  without  enters  into  the  man  can  not  befoul  him; 
19  because  it  does  not  enter  into  his  heart,  but  into  his  belly,  and  is 
voided  into  the  privy-vault,  cleansing  away  all  the  food  ?" 

20  And  he  said  : 

"What  issues  from  the  man,  that  befouls  the  man.  21  For  from 
within,  out  of  the  heart  of  men,  issue  wicked  reasonings,  fornica- 
tions, thefts,  murders,  adulteries,  22  covetings,  rogueries,  guile, 
evil  eye,  slander,  haughtiness,  folly;  23  all  these  ignoble  things 
issue  from  within,  and  befoul  the  man." 

COMMENTARY 

One  is  at  a  loss  to  say  which  is  the  more  charming,  the  "allegory" 
or  the  esoteric  explanation  vouchsafed  by  the  forger,  who  evidently 
believed  not  only  in  the  sanctity  of  dirtiness  but  also  in  the  holiness 
of  eating  anything  palatable  that  he  could  put  his  unwashed  hands 
on.  This  particular  forger  appears  to  have  been  a  Roman  who  wrote 
Greek  badly.  The  words  ascribed  to  lesous  are  coarse  to  the  point 
of  vulgarity;  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  among  the  confused  jumble 
of  impurities  that  are  said  to  issue  from  the  heart  is  the  "evil  eye." 

Ch.  VII.  24-30 

24  And  he  rose  up  thence  and  went  away  to  the  boundaries  of 
Tyre  [[and  Sidon]].  And  he  entered  into  a  house,  and  wished  no 
one  to  know  it ;  but  he  could  not  escape  notice.  25  But  immediately 
a  woman,  whose  little  daughter  was  possessed  by  an  unclean  spirit, 
having:  heard  about  him,  came  and  fell  at  his  feet.  26  Now,  the 
woman  was  a  Greek,  a  Syrophoenician  by  race.  And  she  begged  that 
he  would  cast  the  ghost  out  of  her  daughter.  27  And  he  said  to  her : 


5i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Allow  the  children  first  to  be  fed ;  for  it  is  not  right  to  take  the 
children's  bread  and  throw  it  to  the  curs." 

28  But  she  answered  and  says  to  him : 

"Yes,  Master ;  even  the  curs  under  the  table  eat  of  the  children's 
crumbs." 

29  And  he  said  to  her : 

"For  that  response  go  your  way;  the  ghost  has  gone  out  of  your 
daughter." 

30  And  she  went  aw-ay  to  her  house,  and  found  the  little  child 
laid  on  the  bed,  and  the  ghost  had  gone  out  of  [her]. 

COMMENTARY 

It  is  refreshing  to  notice  occasionally  in  the  text  the  name  of  a 
city  which,  like  Tyre,  can  be  discovered  on  a  map,  without  consult- 
ing a  fanciful  Bible  atlas.  But  the  "historian"  who  thoughtfully 
added  "and  Sidon"  had  been  born  out  of  season.  But  even  in  that 
large  city  lesous,  for  all  his  magical  powers,  was  unable  to  escape 
the  notice  of  the  rabble.  He  could  cast  out  ghosts,  but  he  could  not 
conceal  himself  even  in  a  house. 

In  this  incident,  the  forger  sympathetically  depicts  lesous  as  a  nar- 
row sectarian  whose  bigotry  relaxes  a  little  because  of  the  sickening 
sycophancy  of  a  woman  who  likens  herself  to  a  little  dog,  a  "cur" 
(  Kvvapiov)  devouring  scraps  under  the  table.  Commentators  w' ith 
a  leaning  towards  a  supposedly  "mystical  interpretation"  of  their 
scriptures  have  suggested  that  the  story  may  be  taken  as  an  alle- 
gory, signifying  that  lesous  spread  his  spiritual  banquet  for  the  Jews 
only,  and  that  the  "Gentiles"  are  the  little  dogs  under  the  table.  This 
would  mean  that  Christendom,  for  nearly  two  millenniums,  has 
rejoiced  over  fragments  from  a  feast  which  the  Jews,  as  a  nation, 
declined  to  partake  of.  But,  in  fact,  the  scraps  on  which  the  Chris- 
tians have  been  fed  were  stolen  from  the  "pagan"  Greeks. 

Ch.  VII.  31-37 

31  And  again  he  departed  from  the  boundaries  of  Tyre,  and  came 
through  Sidon  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  through  the  midst  of  the  bor- 
ders of  Dekapolis.     32  And  they  bring  to  him  a  deaf  man  who 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  519 

stammered,  and  implore  him  to  lay  his  hands  on  him.  33  And  he 
took  him  away  from  the  crowd  apart,  and  put  his  fingers  in  his  ears, 
and  after  spitting,  he  touched  his  tongue  [with  the  spittle]  ;  34  and 
looking  up  to  the  sky,  he  groaned,  and  says  to  him  : 

"Ephphatha!"  (that  is,  "Be  opened!") 

35  And  his  ears  were  opened,  and  the  ligament  of  his  tongue 
was  loosed,  and  he  talked  distinctly.  36  And  he  charged  them  that 
they  should  tell  no  one ;  but  the  more  he  charged  them  the  more 
extravagantly  they  proclaimed  it.  37  And  they  were  immeasurably 
astounded,  saying: 

"Right  well  has  he  done  all  things :  alike  he  causes  the  deaf  to 
hear  and  the  dumb  to  speak." 

COMMENTARY 

The  forger,  although  a  disbeliever  in  the  principles  of  hygiene, 
was  a  firm  believer  in  the  practices  of  vulgar  magic,  or  he  would 
not  have  had  lesous  emplo}'  the  ridiculous  methods  of  using  spittle, 
touching  the  affected  organs,  sky-gazing,  groaning,  and  ejaculating 
barbaric  words  as  magical  formulas.  The  belief  in  the  magical 
efficacy  of  saliva  was  common  in  ancient  times ;  but  probably  it  was 
not  the  usual  practice  to  put  it  in  the  patient's  mouth,  as  lesous 
evidently  does  in  this  case. 

The  astonishment  of  the  spectators  is  only  equalled  by  their  dis- 
obedience of  the  command  of  silence  imposed  on  them  by  lesous, 
who,  though  he  could  cause  the  deaf  to  hear  and  the  dumb  to  speak, 
was  unable  to  silence  the  garrulous. 

Chapter  viii.  i-io 

1  In  those  days  there  was  a  great  crowd  again,  and  they  had 
nothing  to  eat ;  and  he  called  his  disciples  to  him  and  says  to  tli^m : 

2  "My  heart  goes  out  to  the  crowd,  because  they  are  remaining 
with  me  now  three  days,  and  are  not  having  anything  to  eat ;  3  and 
if  I  send  them  away  fasting  to  their  home  they  will  be  tired  out  on 
the  road,  for  some  of  them  have  come  from  afar." 

4  And  his  disciples  answered  him  : 


520  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"From  what  source  shall  any  one  be  able,  here  in  a  desert,  to  fill 
these  people  with  bread  ?" 

5  And  he  asked  them : 

"How  many  loaves  have  you?" 

And  they  said : 

"Seven." 

6  And  he  directed  the  crowd  to  recline  on  the  ground.  And  he 
took  the  seven  loaves,  and  after  giving  thanks,  he  broke  [them]  in 
pieces,  and  gave  [them]  to  his  disciples,  to  set  before  them ;  and  they 
set  them  before  the  crowd.  7  Also  they  had  a  few  little  fishes ;  and 
after  blessing  them,  he  told  [his  disciples]  to  set  these  also  before 
them.  8  And  they  ate  and  were  satisfied.  And  they  took  up  seven 
baskets  of  the  left-over  fragments.  9  And  those  [who  had  eaten] 
were  about  four  thousand  ;  and  he  sent  them  away.  10  And  imme- 
diately he  entered  into  the  ship  with  his  disciples,  and  came  to  the 
districts  of  Dalmanutha. 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  is  only  a  repetition,  with  nonsensical  changes,  of  the 
account  previously  given  about  the  multiplication  of  the  five  loaves 
and  the  two  fishes.  The  forgers  were  not  above  plagiarism ;  but  it 
certainly  was  audacious  to  insert  this  obviously  stolen  story  in  the 
very  work  from  which  it  was  plagiarized.  It  is  not  simply  a  variant 
of  the  original  allegory;  for  elsewhere  the  forger  refers  to  both  of 
them,  and  intimates  that  each  has  a  meaning  of  its  own.  The  orig- 
inal allegory  is  indeed  pregnant  with  meaning;  but  this  one  is  as 
barren  as  the  infertile  brain  of  the  priest-forger  who  perpetrated  it. 
In  the  genuine  allegory  lesous  and  the  twelve,  picnicking  in  a  "des- 
ert place,"  have  not  sufficient  provisions  for  the  self-invited  crowd; 
but  in  this  plagiarism  the  "great  crowd"  famish  for  three  days, 
although  in  a  populous  region,  before  lesous  discovers  their  plight. 

Dalmanutha  is  called  Magadan,  or  Magdala,  in  the  parallel  pas- 
sage in  Matthczv  (xv.  39)  ;  but  the  orthodox  Biblical  scholars,  to 
bring  the  two  Gospels  into  accord,  fancy  that  there  may  have  been 
two  villages  close  together.  But  whether  one  village  or  two  villages, 
they  belong  exclusively  to  the  unreal  geography  of  the  Synoptics. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  521 

Ch.  VIII.  11-21 

1 1  And  the  Pharisees  came  out  and  began  to  make  mutual  inquiry 
with  him,  seeking  from  him  a  sign  from  the  sky,  putting  a  test  to 
him.     12  And  he  groaned  in  his  spirit  and  says : 

''Why  does  this  generative-cycle  keep  seeking  a  sign?  Amen,  I 
say  to  you,  [What  then]  if  a  sign  shall  be  given  to  this  generative- 
cycle?" 

13  And  having  left  them,  he  entered  again  into  the  ship,  and 
went  away  to  the  other  side. 

14  And  they  forgot  to  take  bread ;  and  except  one  loaf  they  did 
not  have  any  with  them  in  the  ship.  15  And  he  charged  them, 
saying : 

"Take  care,  shun  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  leaven  of 
Herod." 

16  And  they  argued  among  themselves,  because  they  had  no 
bread.     17  And  lesous  was  aware  of  it,  and  says  to  them: 

"Why  are  you  arguing  among  yourseh-es  because  you  have  no 
bread?  Do  you  not  yet  perceive  or  understand?  Is  your  heart 
hardened?  18  'Having  eyes,  do  you  not  sec,  and  haviiig  cars,  do 
you  not  hear?'  And  do  you  not  remember?  19  Wlien  I  broke  in 
pieces  the  five  loaves  [and  gave  them]  to  the  five  thousand,  how 
many  hand-baskets  full  of  the  fragments  did  you  take  up?" 

They  say  to  him : 

"Twelve." 

20  "And  when  the  seven  [loaves]  among  the  four  thousand,  how 
many  basketfuls  of  fragments  did  you  take  up?" 

And  they  say  to  him : 
beven. 

21  And  he  said  to  them  : 
"Do  you  not  yet  understand  ?" 

COMMENTARY 

The  Pharisees  were  reasonable  in  asking  for  a  sign,  and  in  Mat- 
theiv  (xii.  40)  they  are  given  the  sign  Cetus,  the  Whale;  but  here 
lesous  only  groans— as  he  did  when  curing  the  deaf  man— and  gives 


522  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

an  unintelligible  answer,  which  is  made  even  more  obscure  by  a 
lacuna  in  the  text. 

The  forger  here  admits  that  the  story  of  the  multiplication  of  the 
loaves  and  fishes  has  an  esoteric  meaning;  but  it  is  clear  that  he  him- 
self had  not  even  a  clue  to  it.  To  cover  up  his  ignorance,  he  waxes 
mysterious  and  vague,  as  if  to  tax  the  intelligence  of  the  reader. 
The  genuine  allegory  is  really  so  simple  that  the  disciples  would 
have  been  sadly  lacking  in  intuition  had  they  failed  to  perceive  it ;  but 
neither  they  nor  any  one  else  could  understand  the  bogus  allegory 
or  the  arithmetical  twaddle  here  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  pseudo- 
lesous. 

Ch.  VIII.  22-26 

22  And  they  came  to  Bethsaida.  And  they  bring  a  blind  man  to 
him,  and  implore  him  to  touch  him.  23  And  he  grasped  the  blind 
man's  hand,  and  led  him  outside  of  the  village;  and  having  spit  on 
his  eyes,  and  having  laid  his  hands  on  him,  he  asked  him  : 

"Do  you  see  anything?" 

24  And  he  looked  up  and  said : 

"I  see  men ;  for  I  see  them  like  trees,  walking." 

25  Then  he  again  laid  his  hands  on  his  eyes,  and  he  gazed  intently, 
and  [his  sight]  was  restored,  and  he  saw  everything  distinctly.  26 
And  he  sent  him  away  to  his  house  saying : 

"Do  not  enter  into  the  village,  [[neither  tell  it  in  the  village]]." 

COMMENTARY 

Again  lesous  is  lavish  with  saliva,  which,  in  these  forgeries,  seems 
to  have  been  his  favorite  remedy.  This  time,  however,  the  cure  is 
not  an  "immediate"  one:  it  is  deferred  in  order  to  introduce  the 
imagery  of  "trees,  walking,"  which  is  the  only  original  element  in 
this  pointless  miracle. 

Ch.  VIII.  27-30 

27  And  lesous  went  forth,  and  his  disciples,  to  the  villages  of 
Caesarea  Philippi ;  and  on  the  road  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying  to 
them : 

"Who  do  men  sav  that  I  am?" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  523 

28  And  they  told  him,  saying : 

"[Some  say],  loannes  the  Lustrator;  and  others,  Ehjah;  and 
others,  One  of  the  prophets." 

29  And  he  asked  them : 

"But  who  do  you  say  that  I  am  ?" 
Petros  answers  and  says  to  him : 
"You  are  the  Anointed." 

30  And  he  strictly  enjoined  them  that  they  should  tell  no  one 
concerning  him. 

COMMENTARY 

To  connect  the  Greek  allegorical  drama  with  the  Hebrew  scrip- 
tures by  identifying  its  principal  characters  as  Old  Testament 
worthies  was  rather  a  clever  conception :  lesous  was  made  out  to  be 
a  reincarnation  of  King  David ;  I5annes  the  Lustrator,  of  Elijah ; 
Simon,  of  Jonah ;  and  loannes,  of  Jonathan.  This  literary  device 
would  readily  occur  to  the  Roman  Marcus,  who  may  be  supposed 
to  have  read  the  fanciful  account  given  by  Vergil  {^neid,  vi.  752 
et  seq.)  of  the  shades  in  Hades  who  were  destined  to  reincarnate  as 
great  characters  in  Rome.  But  when  the  inventors  of  Christianity 
had  developed  their  new  plan  of  salvation,  making  out  lesous  to  be 
the  only  son  of  God  and  the  sole  savior  of  mankind,  this  doctrine 
of  reincarnation  had  to  be  kept  in  the  background,  and  was  eventu- 
ally abandoned.  The  assertion  that  lesous  was  "the  Anointed" 
merely  identified  him  with  David,  "the  Lord's  Anointed" ;  but  later 
the  Messianic  idea  developed  as  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  new 
and  wholly  exoteric  religion. 

Ch.  VIII.  31-38 

31  And  he  began  to  teach  them  that  it  is  inevitable  for  the 
Son  of  man  to  suffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected  by  the  elders, 
and  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  rise 
[from  the  dead]  after  three  days.  32  And  he  explained  the 
arcane  doctrine  frankly.  And  Petros  took  him,  and  began  to 
admonish  him.  33  But  he,  turning  and  looking  at  his  disciples, 
admonished  Petros,  saying : 


524  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Get  behind  me,  Adversary ;  for  your  mind  is  not  centred  on 
the  things  of  God,  but  on  the  things  of  men." 

34  And  he  called  to  him  the  crowd  with  his  disciples,  and  said 
to  them : 

"Whoever  is  willing  to  come  after  me,  let  him  utterly  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  go  along  with  me.  35  For 
whoever  desires  to  save  his  soul  shall  lose  it ;  but  whoever  shall 
lose  his  soul  for  the  sake  [[of  me  and]]  of  the  good  tidings, 
shall  save  it.  36  For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gains  the 
whole  world  and  forfeits  his  own  soul  ?  37  Or  what  shall  a  man 
give  [as]  an  exchange  for  his  soul?  38  For  whoever,  in  this  adul- 
terous and  sinful  generative-sphere,  may  liave  been  ashamed  of 
me  and  of  my  doctrines,  of  him  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  ashamed 
when  he  comes  in  his  Father's  glory  with  the  holy  Divinities." 

Chapter  ix.  i 

I   And  he  says  to  them : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  There  are  some  bystanders  here  who  shall 
not  at  all  taste  of  death  until  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God  when  it 
has  come  in  power." 

COMMENTARY 

The  prediction  by  lesous  of  his  crucifixion  is  made  more  appro- 
priately in  X.  32-34.  Here  it  is  fancifully  appended  by  the  forgers 
to  the  spurious  incident  where  lesous  declares  that  Joannes  the  Lus- 
trator  was  Elijah  reincarnated.  The  notion  is  that  as  loannes  had 
been  put  to  death,  so  lesous  also  would  suffer.  But  the  forgers  have 
inadvertently  left  out  the  connecting  statement  about  the  martyr- 
dom of  loannes.  It  is  given  clearly  enough  in  ix.  13,  but  some 
bungling  forger  has  disjoined  it  from  the  prediction  of  the  cruci- 
fixion (which  is  repeated  in  ix.  31)  by  inserting  the  story  of  the 
epileptic  boy  whom  the  disciples  failed  to  free  from  a  possessing 
spirit.  In  attempting  to  improve  the  narrative  the  forgers  have 
thus  given  the  prediction  in  three  places. 

If  the  prediction  in  ix.  i,  above,  were  true  historically  and  pro- 
phetically, the  bystanders  would  be  still  on  earth  as  wandering  Jews, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  525 

with  but  little  hope  of  tasting  death  while  the  earth  endures.  Even 
the  most  hopeful  eschatologists,  saving  ignorant  fanatics  who  are 
looked  upon  askance  by  the  respectably  orthodox,  are  not  now  ex- 
pecting that  lesous  will  establish  his  kingdom  on  earth  in  the  imme- 
diate future. 

The  forgers  must  have  had  a  collection  of  "sayings"  (logia) 
which  some  compiler  had  made,  severing  them  from  the  context.  In 
attempting  to  fit  these  sayings  into  their  appropriate  places,  they 
have  made  some  curious  dislocations  and  many  repetitions ;  and 
when  unable  to  work  them  into  the  text  with  any  pretence  of  rele- 
vancy, they  have  strung  them  together  in  a  queer  medley,  interspers- 
ing them  with  vapid  theological  comments.  The  modern  division 
of  the  text  into  chapters  and  verses  betrays  equal  ignorance  and 
incompetence,  as  in  the  above  instance,  where  Chapter  ix  begins  with 
the  concluding  sentence  of  an  incident  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Ch.  IX.  2-13 

2  And  after  six  days  lesous  takes  with  him  Petros.  lakobos 
and  loannes,  and  brings  them  up  into  a  lofty  mountain,  alone  by 
themselves;  and  he  was  transfigured  before  them,  3  and  his 
garments  became  glittering,  exceedingly  white,  [[like  snow]], 
such  as  no  clothes-cleaner  on  earth  can  whiten  them.  4  And  to 
them  appeared  Elijah,  with  Moses ;  and  they  were  talking  with 
lesous.    5  And  Petros  answered  and  said  to  lesous: 

"Rabbi,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here ;  and  let  us  build  here  three 
dwelling-places,  one  for  you,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah." 

6  For  he  did  not  know  what  answer  to  make ;  for  they  were 
frightened.  7  And  a  cloud  came  and  overshadowed  them;  and 
from  the  cloud  came  a  voice,  saying : 

"This  is  my  favorite  son ;  hear  ye  him." 

8  And  on  a  sudden,  having  looked  around,  they  no  longer  saw 
any  one  but  lesous  alone  with  themselves. 

9  And  as  they  w'ere  descending  from  the  mountain,  he  admon- 
ished them  that  they  should  relate  to  no  one  what  they  had  seen, 
save  when  the  Son  of  man  should  be  risen  from  the  dead.  10  And 
they  kept  that  arcane  doctrine  among  themselves,  discussing  what 


526  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  rising  from  the  dead  is.  1 1  And  they  put  a  question  to  him, 
saying : 

"Say  the  scribes  that  Ehjah  must  come  first?" 

12  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"EHjah  indeed  comes  first  and  restores  all  things.  And  how  is  it 
written  of  the  Son  of  man,  that  he  should  suffer  many  things,  and 
be  treated  as  of  no  account?  13  But  I  say  to  you,  Elijah  is  come, 
and  they  have  also  done  to  him  whatever  they  desired,  just  as  it  was 
written  of  him." 

COMMENTARY 

The  text  should  read,  "on  the  seventh  day,"  but  here  and  in  Mat- 
thew xvii.  I  it  has  been  changed  to  "after  six  days,"  and  in  Luke  ix. 
28  to  "about  eight  days  after,"  evidently  because  the  forgers  per- 
ceived that  it  would  be  un-Jewish  for  lesous  and  his  disciples  to 
travel  on  the  seventh  day. 

Petros  (patron  saint  of  the  Roman  hierarchy)  has  here  been  sub- 
stituted for  loudas.  The  proclamation  of  the  voice  from  the  cloud 
is  only  a  variant  of  that  made  at  the  baptism  of  lesous;  and  in  this 
instance  it  is  wholly  inappropriate.  Nor  is  the  apparition  of  Elijah 
strictly  consistent  with  the  statement  that  he  had  reincarnated  as 
loannes  the  Lustrator;  for,  although  the  psychic  body  of  a  man  can 
assume  the  appearance  he  wore  in  any  of  his  previous  incarnations, 
it  would  naturally  be  expected  that  here  he  would  wear  the  likeness 
of  loannes  and  not  that  of  Elijah. 

Throughout  the  narrative  lesous  constantly  enjoins  to  secrecy  his 
disciples,  his  patients,  the  spectators,  and  even  the  "unclean  spirits," 
when  usually  there  is  no  apparent  reason  for  them  to  preserve  si- 
lence. In  a  Mystery-play  it  is  very  probable  that  the  importance  of 
secrecy  would  be  frequently  alluded  to,  to  impress  it  upon  the  minds 
of  the  initiates,  who  were  the  only  spectators  at  the  performance  of 
the  sacred  drama;  and  in  "historicizing"  the  drama  the  forgers  ap- 
pear to  have  preserved  this  feature  imitatively  and  for  no  reasonable 
purpose. 

The  "prophecy"  referred  to  in  verse  13  is  not  in  the  Old  Testa- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  527 

ment  or  any  other  known  scripture;  presumably  it  is  one  of  the 
many  fabrications  of  the  forgers. 

Cii.  IX.  14-29 

14  And  when  they  came  to  the  [other]  disciples,  they  saw  a  great 
crowd  about  them,  and  scribes  discoursing  with  them.  15  And  im- 
mediately all  the  crowd,  when  they  saw  him,  were  awe-struck,  and 
running  to  him  welcomed  him.     16  And  he  asked  them: 

"What  are  you  discussing  with  them?" 

17  And  one  of  the  crowd  answered  him : 

"Teacher,  I  brought  to  you  my  son,  who  has  a  dumb  spirit,  18 
and  wheresoever  it  seizes  him  it  knocks  him  down ;  and  he  foams, 
and  gnashes  his  teeth,  and  he  is  withering  away ;  and  I  spoke  to  your 
disciples  that  they  should  cast  it  out,  but  they  were  unable  [to  do 
so]." 

19  But  he  answers  them  and  says: 

"O  unbelieving  generation,  how  long  shall  I  be  witn  you,  how 
long  shall  I  endure  you  ?    Bring  him  to  me." 

20  And  they  brought  him  to  him.  And  immediately  on  seeing 
him  the  spirit  threw  him  into  convulsions ;  and  he  fell  on  the  ground 
and  wallowed,  foaming  [at  the  mouth].  21  And  he  asked  his 
father : 

"How  long  a  time  is  it  that  this  has  haopened  to  him  ?" 

And  he  said : 

"From  early  childhood.  22  And  often  it  has  cast  him  both  into 
fire  and  into  waters,  that  it  might  destroy  him;  but  if  you  can  do 
anything,  have  pity  on  us  and  help  us." 

23  And  lesous  said  to  him  : 

"If  you  are  able  [[to  believe]],  all  things  are  possible  to  the 
believer." 

24  And  immediately  the  child's  father,  screaming,  [  [with  tears]  ], 
said: 

"I  believe.     [  [Master,]  ]  help  my  unbelief." 

25  But  when  lesous  saw  that  a  crowd  was  coming  together  on 
the  run,  he  reproved  the  unclean  spirit,  saying  to  it : 


528  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"You  deaf  and  dumb  spirit,  I  command  you.  Come  out  of  him ; 
and  no  longer  may  you  enter  into  him." 

26  And  having  screamed  and  thrown  him  into  violent  convul- 
sions, it  came  out ;  and  he  l)ecame  like  a  corpse,  so  that  the  majority 
said : 

"He  's  dead." 

2^  But  lesous  grasped  him  by  the  hand  and  raised  him  up,  and 
he  arose. 

28  And  when  he  had  entered  into  a  house,  his  disciples  asked  him 
privately : 

"[Why]  were  we  unable  to  cast  it  out?" 

29  And  he  said  to  them : 

"This  kind  can  come  out  by  nothing  but  prayer  [  [and  fasting]  ]." 

COMMENTARY 

In  their  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  this  "dumb"  spirit  was  ame- 
nable only  to  prayer  (and  fasting,  according  to  a  later  "historian") 
the  disciples  failed  to  eject  him,  which  is  all  the  more  regrettable 
because  this  is  the  onl}^  specific  account  of  their  miracle-working 
recorded  in  the  Synoptics.  But  lesous,  in  defiance  of  his  own  pre- 
scription, did  not  pray  or  fast,  but  performed  the  cure  offhand ;  and 
according  to  the  literal  meaning  of  the  words,  "This  kind  can  come 
out  by  nothing  but  prayer  and  fasting,"  it  was  the  dumb  spirit  who 
should  have  prayed  and  fasted.  The  cure,  however,  is  made  contin- 
gent upon  the  vacillating  faith  of  the  father — who  was  neither  the 
healer  nor  the  patient,  and  who  neither  prayed  nor  fasted.  The 
story  is  a  tissue  of  puerile  absurdities,  written  by  some  ignoramus 
whose  work  resembles  the  crude  composition  of  a  schoolboy.  In 
Matthciv  and  Luke  the  story  has  been  condensed  to  about  one-half, 
and  the  wording  of  it  has  been  improved. 

Ch.  IX.  30-32 

30  And  they  withdrew  from  that  place,  and  returned  through 
Galilee.  And  he  did  not  wish  that  any  one  should  know  it.  31  For 
he  was  teaching  his  disciples ;  and  he  said  to  them  : 

"The  Son  of  man  is  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men,  and  they 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  529 

will  kill  him.     And  when  he  is  killed,  after  three  days  he  will  rise 
[from  the  dead]." 

32  But  they  did  not  understand  the  saying,  and  were  afraid  to 
ask  him. 

COMMENTARY 

The  prediction  of  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  should  follow 
ix.  12,  13,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  interpolated  story  of 
the  epileptic  boy.  Though  genuine  in  substance,  the  prediction  is 
here  a  repetition  made  by  the  forgers  in  padding  out  the  text. 

It  was  a  common  belief  among  the  Greeks  that  until  the  expira- 
tion of  the  "third  day"  after  death  the  spirit  could  yet  be  recalled; 
and  on  the  third  day  special  rites,  termed  TpCra  or  irpoTpira,  were 
performed,  with  a  view  to  the  possible  return  of  the  spirit.  In  all 
the  genuine  portions  of  the  Synoptics  the  references  to  popular  be- 
liefs and  customs  are  to  Greek  ones ;  it  is  only  in  the  spurious  por- 
tions that  anything  Jewish  or  supposititiously  Jewish  is  mentioned. 

Ch.  IX.  33-50 

33  And  they  came  to  Kapernaum ;  and  when  he  was  in  the  house 
he  asked  them : 

"What  were  you  discussing  on  the  road?" 

34  But  they  kept  silent ;  for  on  the  road  they  had  been  dis- 
cussing who  [of  the  twelve  was]  more  mature.  35  And  he  sat 
dow^n,  and  called  the  twelve ;  and  he  says  to  them : 

"If  any  one  desires  to  be  first,  he  shall  be  last  of  all,  and  a 
servant  of  all." 

36  And  he  took  a  little  child  and  set  it  in  their  midst;  and 
folding  it  in  his  arms,  he  said  to  them : 

2fy  "Whoever  in  my  name  shall  entertain  one  such  little  child, 
entertains  me;  and  whoever  receives  me,  receives  not  me  but 
him  who  sent  me." 

38  loannes  [[answered  and]]  said  to  him: 

"Teacher,  we  saw  a  [healer],  [[who  does  not  follow  us,]] 
casting  out  ghosts  in  your  name;  and  we  restrained  him,  be- 
cause he  does  not  go  along  after  us." 


530  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

39  But  lesous  said : 

"Do  not  restrain  him;  for  there  is  no  one  who  shall  energize 
the  Power  in  my  name,  and  be  able  hastily  to  speak  evil  of  me. 
40  For  he  is  with  us  who  is  not  against  us.  41  For  whoever  in 
my  name  may  give  you  a  cup  of  water  to  drink,  because  you  are 
the  Anointed's  [disciples],  amen,  I  say  to  you.  He  should  not 
at  all  lose  his  reward.  42  And  whoever  shall  place  an  impedi- 
ment in  the  way  of  one  of  these  little  ones  who  believe  [[in 
me]],  it  were  far  better  for  him  if  a  ponderous  millstone  were 
placed  around  his  neck  and  he  were  cast  into  the  sea.  43  And 
if  yonr  hand  is  an  impediment  to  you,  amputate  it ;  it  is  good  for  you 
to  enter  into  the  [aeonian]  life  maimed,  [rather]  than  having  two 
hands  to  depart  into  Hinnom-valley,  into  unquenchable  fire,  [  [44 
where  Uheir  worm  does  not  die,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched']].  45 
And  if  your  foot  is  an  impediment  to  you,  amputate  it;  it  is  good 
for  you  to  enter  into  the  [aeonian]  life  limping,  [rather]  than  having 
two  feet  to  be  thrown  into  Hinnom-valley,  [[into  the  unquenchable 
fire,  46  where  'their  zvorm  does  not  die,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched']].  47  And  if  your  eye  is  an  impediment  to  you,  gouge  it 
out ;  it  is  good  for  you  to  enter  into  God's  realm  one-eyed,  rather 
than  having  two  eyes  to  be  thrown  into  that  Hinnom-valley  [  [of 
fire]],  48  where  'their  worm  docs  not  die,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched.'  49  For  every  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire,  [  [and  every 
sacrificial  victim  shall  be  salted  with  salt]].  50  Salt  is  good; 
but  if  the  salt  becomes  unsalty,  with  what  will  you  season  it? 
Have  salt  in  yourselves,  and  be  at  peace  with  one  another." 

COMMENTARY 

The  beautiful  episode  in  which  the  followers  of  the  Nous  are 
likened  to  little  children  is  here  sadly  mutilated.  The  literal  state- 
ment that  whoever  "receives"  a  little  child  receives  the  Logos,  or, 
theologically,  lesous,  and  thereby  receives  the  Father,  is  a  senti- 
mental absurdity. 

To  the  noble  reproof  administered  by  lesous  to  his  disciples  the 
forgers  have  appended  a  farrago  of  nonsensical  assertions,  some  of 
which  are  gloomy  and  horrifying.     The  peroration  on  the  subject 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  531 

of  salt,  incoherent  and  chemically  untrue,  is  a  literary  curiosity ;  but 
it  is  probably  a  distortion  of  a  genuine  saying. 

Chapter  x.  1-12 

I  And  rising  up  from  that  place  he  comes  into  the  borders  of 
Judaea  and  beyond  the  Jordan ;  and  crowds  came  together  to  him 
again,  and  as  usual  he  taught  them  again.  2  And  [[Pharisees 
came,  and]  ]  they  asked  him  if  it  is  lawful  for  a  man  to  divorce 
his  wife,  putting  him  to  a  test.  3  And  he  answered  and  said  to 
them: 

"What  did  Moses  command  you?" 

4  And  they  said : 

"Moses  allowed  [him]  'to  write  a  bill  of  divorce,  and  to  divorce 
[her]:'' 

5  But  lesous  said  to  them : 

"In  view  of  your  hard-heartedness  he  wrote  you  this  com- 
mand. 6  But  from  the  primal  element  of  the  world-building 
[[God]]  'made  [[them]]  male  and  female.  7  On  tliis  account,  a 
man  shall  leave  his  father  and  his  mother  [  [and  shall  be  cemented  to 
his  zvife]'],  8  and  the  tivo  shall  become  one  carnal  body'  so  that 
they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one  body.  9  What  therefore  God 
has  yoked  together  let  not  man  separate." 

10  And  in  the  house  the  disciples  again  asked  him  about  the  mat- 
ter ;    1 1   and  he  says  to  them : 

"Whoever  divorces  his  wife,  and  marries  another,  commits  adul- 
tery against  her;  12  and  if  a  woman  divorces  her  husband,  and 
marries  another,  she  commits  adultery." 

COMMENTARY 

Even  if  human  beings  had  been  originally  created  male  and  fe- 
male, it  would  not  follow  logically  that  a  man  and  a  woman  become 
one  body  when  married,  or  that  they  should  not  procure  a  divorce 
if  that  course  seemed  advisable.  That  God  yokes  the  two  together 
is  but  a  dogma  of  the  priest- forgers.  No  reference  is  made,  it  will 
be  noticed,  to  the  fact  that  the  ancient  Jews  practised  polygamy;  if 
a  man  and  his  wife  become  one  body,  it  is  a  problem  what  a  polyga- 


532  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

mist  and  his  wives  would  become.  The  Greek  law  allowed  a  wife 
to  procure  a  divorce  from  her  husband,  but  the  Jewish  law  did  not ; 
and  a  Jewish  writer  would  not  have  made  the  blunder  contained  in 
the  text. 

Ch.  X.  13-16 

13  And  they  were  bringing  to  him  little  children,  that  he 
might  touch  them;  but  the  disciples  reproved  those  [[who  are 
bringing  them]].  14  But  when  lesous  saw  it,  he  was  grieved, 
and  said  to  them : 

"Permit  the  little  children  to  come  to  me,  and  do  not  forbid 
them;  for  to  such  belongs  the  kingdom  of  God.  15  Amen,  I 
say  to  you.  Whoever  shall  not  like  a  little  child  receive  God's 
kingdom,  he  shall  not  at  all  enter  into  it." 

16  And  he  folded  them  in  his  arms,  and  went  on  praising 
them,  laying  his  hands  on  them, 

COMMENTARY 

Though  only  a  fragment  of  this  episode  is  preserved  in  the  text, 
its  beauty  lights  up  the  page  so  darkened  by  the  unlovely  work  of 
the  ecclesiastical  forgers. 

In  the  authorized  version  the  word  kateulogei,  in  verse  16  (the 
only  place  where  the  verb  is  found  in  the  Nezv  Testament),  is  trans- 
lated "blessed" ;  but  the  verb  is  simply  an  intensive  form  of  eulo- 
gein,  "to  eulogize,"  "to  praise." 

Ch.  X.  17-27 

17  And  as  he  was  going  out  on  the  road,  one  ran  to  him,  and 
kneeled  down  to  him,  and  asked  him : 

"Good  Teacher,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  reonian  life?" 

18  And  lesous  said  to  him  : 

"Why  do  you  call  me  'good'  ?  Except  one,  God,  no  one  is  good. 
19  You  know  the  commandments,  'Do  not  kill,'  'Do  not  commit 
adultery,'  'Do  not  steal,'  'Do  not  testify  falsely,'  'Do  not  defraud,' 
'Honor  your  father  and  mother.'  " 

20  And  he  said  to  him  : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  533 

"Teacher,  from  my  youth  I  have  observed  all  these  things." 

21  And  lesous  looking  upon  him  loved  him,  and  said  to  him : 
"You  lack  one  thing:  go  sell  everything  you  possess  and  give  [the 

proceeds]  to  the  mendicants,  and  you  will  have  treasure  in  heaven. 
And  come,  follow  me,  [ [taking  up  the  cross] ]." 

22  But  he  became  gloomy  at  the  doctrine,  and  went  away  grieved  ; 
for  he  was  one  who  had  great  possessions.  23  And  looking  around, 
lesous  says  to  his  disciples : 

"In  what  a  difficult  way  shall  the  possessors  of  riches  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  !" 

24  And  the  disciples  were  astonished  at  his  words.  But  lesous 
answered  again,  and  says  to  them : 

"Children,  how  difficult  it  is  for  those  who  rely  on  riches  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God !  25  It  is  more  feasible  for  a  camel  to  go 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

26  And  they  were  immeasurably  astonished,  saying  to  him : 
"Then  who  can  be  saved  ?" 

27  But  lesous,  gazing  at  them,  says  : 

"It  is  impossible  with  men,  but  not  with  God ;  for  'zvith  God  all 
things  are  possible.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

This  rich  man  was  not  a  murderer,  an  adulterer,  a  thief,  a  per- 
jurer or  a  swindler,  and  he  had  treated  his  parents  respectfully; 
therefore  he  required  but  one  more  virtue  to  qualify  him  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven — and  that  virtue  was  poverty.  How  easy  it  would 
be  to  gain  entrance  to  the  kingdom  on  such  terms !  But  though  he 
had  kept  all  the  commandments  quoted  by  lesous  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  new  one  prohibiting  swindling,  he  failed  in  the  crucial 
test  of  dividing  his  wealth  among  the  beggars.  To  the  inexpressible 
amazement  of  the  disciples,  he  failed  to  crawd  through  that  needle's 
eye,  and  inferentially  his  soul  was  salted  with  fire  in  the  Hinnom- 
V3.\\ej,  where  their  worm  does  not  die,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched. 
But  the  moral  of  the  tale  is  ruined  by  the  final  statement  that  salva- 
tion is  impossible  with  men,  and  possible  only  with  God,  an  objec- 


534  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tionable  sentiment  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  borrowed  from 
Genesis  xviii.  4,  but  which  is  more  probably  a  falsified  version  of 
the  fine  old  Greek  proverb,  "If  God  be  with  us,  everything  that  is 
impossible  becomes  possible." 

Cii.  X.  28-31 

28  Petros  began  to  say  to  him : 

"Behold,  we  have  left  all,  and  have  followed  you." 

29  Said  lesous: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you.  There  is  no  one  who  has  left  house,  or 
brothers,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  [[or  wife,]]  or  chil- 
dren, or  lands,  for  the  sake  of  me  and  of  the  good  tidings,  30 
who  shall  not  receive  a  hundredfold  now^  in  this  season,  houses, 
brothers,  sisters,  mothers,  children  and  lands,  with  persecutions, 
and  in  the  coming  aeon  life  aeonian.  31  But  many  [who  are] 
first  shall  be  last;  and  last,  first." 

COMMENTARY 

The  offer  of  a  hundredfold  increase  in  the  number  of  one's  rela- 
tives, including  a  hundred  mothers,  might  be  an  inducement  to  desert 
one's  family,  were  it  not  for  the  "persecutions"  that  are  thrown  in. 
According  to  the  received  text  the  wdfe  also  is  to  be  abandoned;  but 
the  revisers  have  rejected  the  word  "wife"  as  a  too  modern  inter- 
polation :  this  leaves  the  married  man  in  uncertainty  as  to  whether 
he  should  desert  his  wife  or  take  her  along,  she  and  he  being  but 
"one  body."  If  the  true  doctrine  is  that  he  should  desert  her,  it  is 
still  an  open  question  whether  or  not  he  would  receive  the  polyga- 
mous reward  of  a  hundred  wives.  The  reward,  it  will  be  noticed, 
is  to  be  received  "now  in  this  season,"  that  is,  in  the  material  world. 
The  passage  clearly  has  a  mystical  meaning,  relating  to  the  renun- 
ciation of  the  temporal  life  for  the  eternal;  but  in  the  falsified  text 
it  is  ridiculously  literal.  Each  of  the  Synoptics  contains  the  state- 
ment about  "the  first"  and  "the  last" ;  but  they  disagree  as  to  its 
meaning  and  its  place  in  the  text.  Interpolated  here,  it  seems  to 
mean  that  many  who  are  first  to  abandon  home  and  family  are  last 
to  receive  the  hundredfold  reward  that  is  promised. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  535 

Ch.  X.  32-34 

^2  And  they  were  on  the  road,  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
lesous  was  preceding  them ;  and  they  were  astonished,  and  the 
followers  were  afraid.  And  he  again  took  to  him  the  twelve, 
and  began  to  tell  them  the  things  which  were  about  to  happen 
to  him,    33  saying: 

"Behold,  we  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Son  of  man 
shall  be  handed  over  to  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes;  and 
they  will  sentence  him  to  death,  and  hand  him  over  to  the  pro- 
fane, 34  and  they  will  make  sport  of  him,  scourge  him,  spit 
upon  him.  and  kill  him;  and  after  three  days  he  will  rise  [from 
the  dead]." 

COMMENTARY 

This  prediction  is  made  by  lesous  on  three  occasions.  Here  it  fits 
in  with  tlie  context ;  but  the  other  passages  appear  to  be  only  un- 
necessary repetitions  made  in  padding  out  the  text.  The  rebuke 
to  Simon  should,  naturally,  follow  this  passage. 

Ch.  X.  35-45 

35  And  lakobos  and  loannes,  the  [[two]]  sons  of  Zebedaios, 
come  up  to  him  and  say  to  him: 

"Teacher,  we  wish  that  you  would  do  for  us  whatever  we 
may  ask  of  you." 

36  And  he  said  to  them : 

"What  do  you  wish  me  to  do  for  you?" 
2,7  And  they  said  to  him : 

"Grant  to  us  that  we  may  sit,  one  at  your  right  and  the  other 
at  your  left  hand,  in  your  glory." 

38  But  lesous  said  to  them : 

"You  know  not  what  you  ask.  Are  you  able  to  drink  the  cup 
which  I  am  drinking,  or  be  lustrated  with  the  lustration  with 
which  I  am  being  lustrated?" 

39  And  they  said  to  him : 
"We  are  able." 


536  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  lesous  said  to  them : 

"You  shall  indeed  drink  the  cup  which  I  am  drinking,  and  you 
shall  be  lustrated  [with]  the  lustration  [with]  which  I  am  being 
lustrated;  40  but  to  sit  at  my  right  hand  and  at  my  left  hand 
is  not  mine  to  grant.  But  [you  are  the  two]  for  whom  it  has 
been  prepared." 

41  And  the  ten,  when  they  heard  [this],  began  to  be  dis- 
pleased about  lakdbos  and  loannes.  42  But  lesous,  having 
summoned  them  to  him,  says: 

"You  know  that  those  who  are  reputed  to  rule  over  the  pro- 
fane hold  them  in  subjection,  and  their  great  ones  domineer 
over  them.  43  But  among  you  it  is  not  so ;  but  whoever  wishes 
to  become  great  among  you  shall  be  your  servant,  44  and 
whoever  wishes  to  be  first  among  you  shall  be  slave  of  all.  45 
For  even  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  served,  but  to  do  ser- 
vice, and  to  give  his  life  as  a  ransom  for  many." 

COMMENTARY 

In  substance  this  passage  is  genuine ;  but  apparently  it  has  suf- 
fered many  things  of  many  interpolators.  The  lacuna  in  verse  40 
would  indicate  that  an  erasure  had  been  made  and  then  carelessly 
left  without  a  fraudulent  substitute.  Verse  44  is  repeated  almost 
verbatim  from  ix.  35. 

Ch.  X.  46-52 

46  And  they  come  to  Jericho ;  and  as  he  was  going  out  from 
Jericho,  and  his  disciples  and  a  considerable  crowd,  the  son  of 
Timaios  (5ar-Timaios),  a  blind  beggar,  was  sitting  beside  the  road; 
47  and  having  heard  that  it  is  lesous  the  Nazoraean,  he  began  to 
shout  and  say: 

"lesous,  son  of  David,  have  compassion  on  me !" 

48  And  many  reproved  him.  that  he  should  be  silent ;  but  he 
shouted  much  more : 

"Son  of  David,  have  compassion  on  me !" 

49  And  lesous  stopped,  and  said : 
"Call  him." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  537 

And  they  call  the  blind  man,  saying  to  him : 
"Take  courage;  rise  up,  he  is  calling  you." 

50  And  he,  throwing  away  his  cloak,  sprang  up,  and  came  to 
lesous. 

5 1  And  lesous  answered  and  says  to  him : 
"What  do  you  wish  I  should  do  for  you  ?" 
And  the  blind  man  said  to  him : 
"Rahhoni,  that  I  may  recover  my  sight." 

52  And  lesous  said  to  him  : 
"Go ;  your  faith  has  saved  you." 

And  immediately  he  recovered  his  sight,  and  went  along  with 
lesous  on  the  road. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  case  of  this  blind  beggar  lesous  relies  wholly  upon  faith, 
and  neglects  to  employ  saliva,  yet  the  cure  is  "immediate."  This 
seems  to  be  the  only  moral  to  be  derived  from  the  story.  Timaios 
is  strictly  a  Greek  name ;  but  Bar-Timaios,  which  means  "son  of 
Timaios,"  is  a  barbarism. 

Chapter  xi.  i-io 

I  And  when  they  were  nearing  Jerusalem,  Bethphage  and 
Bethany,  towards  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  he  sends  two 
of  his  disciples,    2  and  says  to  them : 

"Go  into  the  village  opposite  you,  and  immediately  on  enter- 
ing it  you  will  find  a  colt  tied,  on  which  no  man  has  ever  yet 
sat.  Untie  him,  and  bring  him.  3  And  if  any  one  says  to  you, 
'Why  are  you  doing  this?'  say,  'The  Master  has  need  of  it,  and 
immediately  he  will  send  it  here  again.'  " 

4  And  they  departed,  and  found  a  colt  tied  at  the  door,  outside 
[the  stable] ,  in  the  alley ;  and  they  untied  it.  5  And  some  of  the 
[villagers]  standing  there  said  to  them: 

"What  are  you  doing,  untying  the  colt?" 

6  And  they  said  to  them  just  as  lesous  had  said;  and  they 
permitted  them  [to  take  the  colt] .  7  And  they  brought  the  colt 
to  lesous ;  and  they  threw  their  cloaks  on  it,  and  he  bestrode  it. 


538  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

8  And  many  strewed  their  cloaks  on  the  road,  and  others  leaf- 
mattresses  which  they  had  cut  from  the  fields.  9  And  those 
going  before  and  those  following  kept  shouting: 

"Hosanna!  'Blessed  [is]  he  who  is  coming  in  the  Master's 
name'  10  Blessed  [be]  the  coming  kingdom  [[in  the  Master's 
name]]  of  our  father  David.    Hosanna  in  the  highest  [heavens']  !" 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  parallel  passage  in  Matthezv  the  "colt"  accompanies  a  she- 
ass  ;  but  here  the  text  has  been  tampered  with  to  conceal  the  Bak- 
chic  connection  of  the  animal.  Whether  or  not  Mark  is  older  or 
more  primitive  than  Matthew  and  Luke,  the  fact  remains  that  it  has 
been  as  unscrupulously  "edited"  as  the  others  have  been.  Its  very 
crudity  is  largely  due  to  the  destructive  work  of  ignorant  and  unskil- 
ful forgers. 

The  translation  in  the  received  version,  "Hosanna  in  the  highest," 
is  misleading;  for  "highest"  is  in  the  plural,  apparently  referring  to 
the  heavens,  of  which  the  ancients,  both  Jews  and  "Gentiles,"  enu- 
merated seven,  corresponding  to  the  seven  planets. 

Ch.  XI.  11-14 

1 1  And  he  entered  into  Jerusalem,  into  the  temple ;  and  when 
he  had  looked  round  upon  all  things,  the  hour  being  now  late, 
he  withdrew  to  Bethany  with  the  twelve. 

12  And  on  the  morrow,  when  they  had  come  out  from 
Bethany,  he  was  hungry.  13  And  seeing  at  a  distance  a  fig-tree 
leafed  out,  he  went  [to  see]  if  perhaps  he  might  find  anything 
on  it;  and  having  come  to  it,  he  found  nothing  but  leaves:  for  it 
was  not  the  season  of  figs.     14  And  he  answered  and  said  to  it: 

"May  no  one  eat  fruit  of  thee  any  more  throughout  the  aeon !" 
And  his  disciples  heard  it. 

COMMENTARY 

Throughout  the  text  occur  short  explanatory  clauses  that  are  re- 
markable for  their  stupidity;  for  in  each  case  the  "explanation" 
ruins  the  story.     To  this  category  belongs  the  statement  that  "it 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  539 

was  not  the  season  of  figs."  According  to  this,  lesous  not  only 
made  the  mistake  of  looking  for  figs  out  of  season,  but  unjustly 
destroyed  the  tree  because  it  had  not  produced  fruit  untimely. 

The  phrase  "answered  and  said"  is  often  used  in  the  Synoptics 
when  the  word  '"answered"  is  not  applicable;  and  it  is  particularly 
absurd  in  this  passage,  where  the  words  of  lesous  are  addressed 
to  the  fig-tree. 

Ch.  XI.  15-19 

1 5  And  they  come  to  Jerusalem ;  and  he  entered  into  the  tem- 
ple, and  began  to  drive  out  those  selling  and  buying  in  the 
temple,  and  overturned  the  tables  of  the  money-changers,  and 
the  seats  of  those  who  were  selling  the  doves.  16  And  he  would 
not  permit  that  any  one  should  carry  a  vessel  through  the  temple. 
17  And  he  taught,  and  said  to  them  : 

"Is  it  not  written,  'My  house  shall  he  called  a  house  of  prayer  for 
all  the  nations'?    But  you  have  made  it  'a  den  of  robbers.'  " 

18  And  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes  heard  it,  and  they  sought 
how  they  might  destroy  him;  for  they  feared  him.  for  all  the  crowd 
were  astonished  at  his  teaching.  19  And  he  used  to  go  out  of 
the  city  as  soon  as  evening  came. 

COMMENTARY 

The  few  words  taken  from  IsaiaJi  (Ivi.  7)  and  Jeremiah  (vii.  11) 
are,  for  a  wonder,  correctly  quoted  and  not  inappropriate ;  but 
though  it  is  said  that  lesous  "taught,"  only  this  caustic  remark  is 
recorded,  and  it  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  instructive. 

Ch.  XI.  20-26 

20  And  in  the  morning,  as  they  were  passing  by,  they  saw 
the  fig-tree  dried  up  from  the  roots.  21  And  Petros,  having 
remembered,  says  to  him : 

"Rabbi,  see  the  fig-tree  which  you  cursed  is  dried  up." 

22  And  lesous  answering  says  to  them : 

"Have  faith  in  God.  2t,  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  Whoever  shall 
say  to  this  mountain,  'Be  removed  and  thrown  into  the  sea,  and 


540  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

shall  not  doubt  in  his  heart,  but  believe  that  what  he  says  is 
happening,  it  shall  be  possible  for  him  [to  do  it].  24  For  this 
reason  I  say  to  you,  Believe  that  you  have  received  all  things 
whatsoever  that  you  ask  for  when  praying,  and  they  shall  be 
possible  [for  you  to  acquire].  25  And  whenever  you  stand  up 
praying,  if  you  have  anything  against  any  one,  forgive  [him], 
that  also  your  Father  who  is  in  the  skies  may  forgive  you  your 
offences.  [[26  But  if  you  do  not  forgive  [him],  neither  will 
your  Father  who  is  in  the  skies  forgive  your  offences]]." 

COMMENTARY 

The  subject  of  prayer,  although  relevant,  is  introduced  very 
abruptly  with  no  expression  connecting  it  with  the  blasting  of  the 
fig-tree ;  and  although  verse  25  clearly  leads  up  to  the  model  petition 
commonly  called  "the  Lord's  Prayer,"  the  discourse  of  lesous  ends 
as  abruptly  as  it  began,  and  instead  of  the  prayer  a  forged  sentence, 
verse  26,  is  given.  This  verse  is  one  of  the  later  interpolations,  and 
is  rejected  even  by  the  revisers.  False  antitheses,  similar  to  the  one 
it  enunciates,  are  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  text. 

Ch.  XI.  27-33 

27  And  they  come  again  to  Jerusalem.  And  as  he  was  walk- 
ing in  the  temple,  the  chief-priests,  the  scribes  and  the  elders 
come  to  him.    28  And  they  said  to  him : 

"By  what  authority  are  you  doing  these  things?"  or,  "Who 
gave  you  this  authority,  that  you  should  do  these  things?" 

29  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"I  also  shall  put  you  a  question  as  to  one  doctrine ;  and  an- 
swer me,  and  I  shall  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  doing  these 
things.  30  Was  the  lustral  rite  of  loannes  from  the  heaven- 
world,  or  from  men?    Answer  me." 

3 1  And  they  argued  among  themselves,  saying : 

"Should  we  say,  'From  the  heaven-world,'  he  will  say,  'Then 
why  did  you  not  believe  him?'     32  But  should  we  say,  'From 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  541 

They  feared  the  people ;  for  all  held  that  loannes  was  really 
a  seer.     t,t,  And  they  answered  lesous,  and  say: 

"We  do  not  know." 

And  lesous  says  to  them : 

"Neither  do  I  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  doing  these 
things." 

COMMENTARY 

In  Matthczv  this  incident  serves  to  introduce  the  allegory  of  the 
two  sons,  which  is  not  given  in  Mark  and  Luke,  though  all  three 
have  the  allegory  of  the  wicked  husbandmen,  which  follows.  In 
Matthew  these  unhistorical  "Pharisees"  are  dealt  with  more  severely 
than  they  are  in  the  other  Synoptics. 

Chapter  xii.  1-12 

I  And  he  began  to  discourse  to  them  in  allegories : 
"A  man  'planted  a  vineyard,  and  placed  a  hedge  about  it,  and 
dug  a  zi'ine-vat,  and  built  a  tozcer,'  and  leased  it  to  husbandmen, 
and  went  travelling  abroad.  2  And  at  the  season  he  sent  to  the 
husbandmen  a  slave,  that  he  might  receive  of  the  fruit  of  the 
vineyard.  3  But  they  laid  hold  of  him  and  beat  him,  and  sent 
him  away  empty-handed.  4  And  again  he  sent  to  them  another 
slave;  and  him  they  [[pelted  with  stones  and]]  wounded  on 
the  head,  [[and  sent  him  away,]]  and  insulted  him.  5  And 
again  he  sent  another;  and  him  they  killed;  and  many  others, 
beating  some  and  killing  some.  6  He  had  yet  one,  a  favorite 
son ;  him  he  sent  to  them  last,  saying : 
"  'They  will  revere  my  son.' 

7  "But  those  husbandmen  said  among  themselves : 

"  'This  is  the  heir;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and  the  inheritance 
will  be  ours.' 

8  "And  they  laid  hold  of  him  and  killed  him,  and  threw  him 
out  of  the  vineyard.  9  What  will  the  master  of  the  vineyard 
do?  He  will  come  and  destroy  the  husbandmen,  and  will  give 
the  vineyard  to  others.  10  Have  you  not  read  even  this  scrip- 
ture : 


542  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"  'The  stone  zvhich  the  builders  rejected, 
The  same  has  become  the  head  of  the  corner; 

11  This  came  from  the  Master, 

And  it  is  wondrous  in  our  eyes' V 

12  And  they  sought  to  seize  him ;  but  they  feared  the  crowd : 
for  they  perceived  that  he  spoke  the  allegory  against  them.  And 
they  left  him,  and  withdrew. 

COMMENTARY 

Many  of  the  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  with  which  the 
text  is  sprinkled  are,  like  this  one  concerning  the  corner-stone,  al- 
most wholly  irrelevant ;  others  are  often  merely  phrases  or  sentences 
suggested,  apparently,  by  some  word  in  the  original  text.  Thus  the 
statement  that  "a  man  planted  a  vineyard"  is  not  necessarily  a  quo- 
tation from  anything,  but  it  suggests  the  allegory  in  Isaiah  v.  i-6, 
where  the  hedge,  the  wine-vat  and  the  tower  are  appropriately  intro- 
duced, though  in  the  allegory  here  they  are  only  trivial  details  that 
mar  rather  than  adorn  the  story  by  detracting  from  its  vividness ; 
they  are  not  in  the  parallel  in  Luke. 

Ch.  XII.  13-17 

13  And  they  sent  to  him  some  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Hero- 
dians,  that  they  might  catch  him  in  doctrine.  14  And  they  come 
and  say  to  him : 

"Teacher,  we  know  that  you  are  truthful,  and  are  not  concerned 
about  any  one;  for  you  do  not  look  at  the  external  appearance  of 
men,  but  really  teach  the  path  of  God.  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute 
to  Caesar,  or  not ?    15   Should  we  give,  or  should  we  not  give?" 

But  he,  knowing  their  dissembling,  said  to  them  : 

"Why  do  you  put  me  a  test?  Bring  me  a  denarius,  that  I  may 
see  it." 

16  And  they  brought  it.     And  he  says  to  them: 

"Whose  is  this  image  and  inscription?" 

And  they  said  to  him  : 

"Caesar's." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  543 

17  And  lesous  said  : 

"Render  to  Caesar  the  thing's  due  to  Caesar,  and  to  God  the  things 
due  to  God." 

And  they  were  filled  with  admiration  at  him. 

COMMENTARY 

That  lesous  should  adopt  the  kindergarten  method  of  instruction 
in  dealing  with  the  hypocritical  interrogators  is  hardly  likely.  The 
Jews  had  to  pay  tribute  to  Caesar  whether  they  regarded  it  as  "law- 
ful" or  not.  If  the  Pharisees  and  "Herodians"  (whoever  the  latter 
may  have  been)  hoped  to  trick  lesous  into  openly  defying  the  ruling 
power,  their  simplicity  of  mind  must  have  been  wonderful.  He 
treats  them  to  a  kindergarten  lesson,  and  then,  evading  their  ques- 
tion, utters  a  platitude  which  excites  admiration  in  their  unsophisti- 
cated minds.  Yet  his  answer  is  far  from  being  admirable,  incul- 
cating as  it  does  ignoble*  submission  to  oppression  and  tyranny.  The 
wording  of  the  story  is  very  crude. 

Cn.  XII.  18-27 

18  And  to  him  come  Sadducees  (who  say  there  is  no  resurrec- 
tion) ;  and  they  put  a  question  to  him,  saying: 

19  "Teacher,  Moses  wrote  to  us,  7/  any  one's  brother  should  die' 
and  leave  behind  a  wife,  'and  not  leave  a  ehild,  his  brother  should 
take  the  zvife,  and  raise  np  seed  for  his  brother.'  20  There  were 
seven  brothers;  and  the  first  took  a  wife,  and  dying  left  no  seed; 
21  and  the  second  took  her,  and  died  leaving  behind  no  seed;  and 
the  third  likewise;  22  and  the  seven  [  [had  taken  her  and]  ]  left  no 
seed.  Last  of  all  the  woman  also  died.  23  In  the  resurrection, 
[  [when  they  shall  rise,]  ]  of  which  one  of  them  will  she  be  the  wife  ? 
For  the  seven  had  her  to  wife." 

24  Said  lesous  to  them  : 

"Not  knowing  the  scriptures  or  the  power  of  God,  are  you  not 
mistaken  on  this  account?  25  They  neither  marry  nor  are 
given  in  marriage  when  they  rise  from  the  dead,  but  are  like  the 
Divinities  in  the  skies.  26  But  in  reference  to  the  dead,  that 
they  rise,  have  you  not  read  in  the  book  of  Moses  [in  the  allegory 


544  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

about]  the  Thorn-bnsh,  how  God  spoke  to  him  saying,  'The  God  of 
Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  am  I'  ?  27  He  is 
the  God,  not  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  hving.  You  are  greatly  mis- 
taken." 

COMMENTARY 

This  is  another  of  the  attempts  of  the  forgers  to  produce  some- 
thing really  clever :  the  Pharisees  and  the  "Herodians"  having  been 
stirred  to  admiration  by  the  Teacher's  kindergarten  lesson,  the  Sad- 
ducees  are  now  given  an  opportunity  to  entrap  him.  But  the  ques- 
tion asked  by  the  Sadducees  is  merely  childish,  and  the  answer  given 
by  lesous  is  not  particularly  convincing  or  brilliant.  Those  who 
"rise  from  the  dead"  become  sexless,  like  the  ''angels" ;  hence  all 
married  couples  are  eternally  divorced  in  heaven,  although,  accord- 
ing to  previous  teachings,  God  originally  made  them  "male  and 
female,"  and  when  united  in  marriage  man  and  wife  "become  one 
body,"  and  should  not  be  divorced  save  for  adultery.  Therefore  it 
is  highly  reprehensible  for  a  husband  and  wife,  when  they  discover 
that  they  are  mismated  and  can  not  fuse  into  a  unit,  to  resolve  them- 
selves into  two  distinct  individualities  again  by  the  process  of  di- 
vorce ;  though  it  is  commendable  for  a  hopelessly  barren  woman  to 
be  married  to  seven  brothers  in  succession  as  rapidly  as  each  of  these 
seven  consecutive  halves  of  her  is  consigned  to  his  grave.  But 
instead  of  elucidating  this  question,  lesous  w^anders  from  the  sub- 
ject, and  quotes  from  Moses  an  irrelevant  passage,  from  which  he 
makes  a  false  deduction :  for  it  does  not  follow  that  because  God 
is  the  God  of  the  living  he  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead  also. 

Ch.  XII.  28-34 

28  And  one  of  the  scribes  had  approached  and  heard  them 
discussing  together;  perceiving  that  lesous  answered  them 
appositely,  he  put  a  question  to  him : 

"Which  is  the  first  commandment  of  all?" 

29  lesous  answered  him: 

"The  first  is,  'Hear,  O  Israel;  'Our  God  is  the  Master,  [and] 
the  Master  is  one';     30  and  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  Master-God 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  545 

from  all  thy  heart,  and  from  all  thy  soul,  and  front  all  thy  mind, 
and  from  all  thy  strength.'  [  [This  is  the  first  commandment.]  ]  31 
[  [And  Hke  it]  ]  the  second  is  this,  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself.'  There  is  not  any  other  commandment  greater  than 
these." 

32  And  the  scribe  said  to  him : 

"Nobly  said,  Teacher!  Truly  have  you  said  that  '[[God]]  is 
one,  and  there  is  no  other  besides  him' ;  33  and  'to  lore  him  zuith  all 
the  heart,  and  zvith  all  the  understanding,  and  with  all  the  soul,  and 
zuith  all  the  strength,'  and  'to  love  one's  neighbor  as  oneself,'  is 
more  excellent  than  all  'whole  bumt-offerings  and  sacrificial 
rites.'  " 

34  And  lesous,  when  he  saw  that  he  answered  with  discrimi- 
nation, said  to  him : 

"You  are  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God," 

And  no  one  any  more  presumed  to  put  a  question  to  him. 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  is  vigorous  and  pointed ;  but  it  has  been  so  padded  that 
the  point  can  be  discerned  only  by  careful  scrutiny.  The  anti-ritual- 
istic moral  it  contains  was  doubtless  unappreciated  by  the  priest- 
forgers  who  have  smothered  it  with  labored  quotations  from  the 
Old  Testament.  The  question  is  asked  by  a  "scribe,"  a  man  of 
learning;  the  two  preceding  ones,  propounded  by  "Pharisees"  and 
"Sadducees,"  with  the  answers,  are  pseudo- Jewish  padding. 

Ch.  XII.  35-37 

35  And  lesous,  as  he  was  teaching  in  the  temple,  answered  and 
said: 

"How  say  the  scribes  that  the  Anointed  is  David's  son  ?  36  David 
himself  said  in  the  sacred  Breath  : 

'The  Master  said  to  my  Master, 

"Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand. 

Until  I  place  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet."  ' 
37  David  himself  calls  him  'Master' ;  and  wherefore  is  he  his  son?" 

And  the  great  crowd  heard  him  gladly. 


546  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  "Jehovah"  is  avoided  by  the  Synoptists:  wherever  it 
occurs  in  a  quotation,  as  in  the  above  from  Psalms  (ex.  i),  it  is 
rendered  "Master,"  the  conventional  "Lord"  of  the  authorized  ver- 
sion. The  quotation  is  made  the  basis  of  a  conundrum,  and  the 
reader  is  left  to  answer  it  as  best  he  may.  If  David  called  lesous 
his  "Master,"  how  could  lesous  be  his  son?  Conceding,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  argument,  that  the  "Master"  referred  to  by  David 
was  lesous,  the  answer  would  be  that  he  was  not  his  son.  Thus 
lesous  seems  to  deny  that  he  is  the  son  of  David.  But  if  lesous  is 
considered  as  a  reincarnation  of  David,  he  would  be  his  "son"  in  a 
mystical  sense. 

Ch.  xir.  38-44 

38  And  in  his  teaching  he  said  : 

"Beware  of  the  scribes  who  are  fond  of  walking  about  in  flow- 
ing robes,  and  [covet]  salutations  in  the  market-places.  39  and 
front  seats  at  the  synagogues,  and  prominent  places  when  re- 
clining [at  table]  at  dinners — 40  who  devour  widows'  houses 
even  while  in  pretence  they  pray  at  great  length.  These  shall 
receive  a  more  severe  sentence  '' 

41  And  he  sat  down  opposite  the  treasury,  and  beheld  how  the 
crowd  keep  throwing  money  into  the  treasury ;  and  many  rich  peo- 
ple were  throw-ing  in  much.  42  And  one  poverty-stricken  widow 
threw  in  two  very  small  coins,  which  equal  a  farthing.  43  And 
calling  his  disciples  to  him,  he  said  to  them: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  This  w'idow,  wretchedly  poor,  has  thrown 
in  more  than  all  the  contributors  to  the  treasury;  44  for  they  all 
threw  in  out  of  their  superabundance,  but  she,  out  of  her  destitu- 
tion, has  thrown  in  all  that  she  had,  her  entire  wealth !" 

COMMENTARY 

Here  is  exemplified  the  priest-forgers'  notion  of  what  is  meant 
by  rendering  to  God  the  things  due  to  God:  the  poor  widow  is 
lauded  for  contributing  her  last  copper  coin  for  the  support  of  the 
priests.     Presumably  the  priests  had  already  "devoured"  her  house 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  547 

and  other  possessions.  A  more  striking  example  of  priestly  rapacity 
can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  words  here  put  into  the  mouth  of 
lesous  seem  to  imply  that  contributions,  no  matter  how  generous, 
are  not  meritorious  unless  they  leave  the  contributor  in  bitter  need 
of  what  he,  or  she,  has  cast  into  the  treasury  of  some  temple  or 
church,  to  help  keep  the  predacious  priests  in  luxury.  Here  the 
priest- forgers  have  changed  to  a  warning  against  the  "scribes"  a 
discourse  which  in  Matthew  is  a  stern  denunciation  of  the  "Phari- 
sees," or  priestly  class. 

Chapter  xiii.  1-27 

1  And  as  he  was  going  forth  out  of  the  temple,  one  of  the  dis- 
ciples says  to  him: 

"Teacher,  look ;  what  kind  of  stones,  and  what  kind  of  build- 
ings." 

2  And  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Do  you  see  these  great  buildings?  There  shall  not  be  left 
here  a  stone  upon  [another]  stone,  which  shall  not  be  thrown 
down." 

3  And  as  he  was  sitting  on  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees, 
opposite  the  temple,  Petros,  lakobos,  loannes  and  Andreas 
asked  him  privately : 

4  "Tell  us,  when  shall  these  things  be,  and  what  the  sign 
[shall  be]  when  these  things  are  all  about  to  be  consummated?" 

5  And  lesous  began  to  say  to  them : 

"Beware  lest  any  one  should  mislead  you.  6  Many  will  come 
in  my  name,  saying,  'I  am  [he]';  and  they  will  mislead  many. 
7  But  when  you  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  do  not 
be  terrified ;  it  must  inevitably  happen,  but  the  completion  is  not 
yet.  8  For  'nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom  against 
kingdom';  and  there  shall  be  earthquakes,  according  to  the 
places ;  there  shall  be  famines.  These  are  the  beginning  of  the 
throes-of-birth.  9  But  take  care  of  yourselves :  for  they  will 
hand  you  over  to  councils,  and  you  will  be  flogged  in  the  syna- 
gogues ;  and  you  will  stand,  for  my  sake,  before  governors  and 
kings,  for  a  testimony  to  them.     10  And  it  is  necessary  that  first 


548  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  good  tidings  should  be  proclaimed  to  all  the  nations.  1 1  But 
whenever  they  lead  you  away,  handing  you  over,  do  not  premeditate 
what  you  are  to  say,  [  [or  mentally  rehearse  it]  ]  ;  but  whatever  may 
be  given  you  in  that  hour,  speak  that ;  for  you  are  not  the  speakers, 
but  [it  is]  the  sacred  Breath.  12  And  brother  will  deliver  brother 
to  death,  the  father  [his]  child;  and  'children  will  rise  up  against 
parents/  and  put  them  to  death.  13  And  on  account  of  my  name 
you  will  be  hated  by  all ;  but  he  who  remains  constant  until  the  com- 
pletion, he  shall  be  saved. 

14  "But  when  you  shall  see  'the  desolating  abomination'  [[which 
was  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  seer]  ]  standing  where  it  should  not 
(let  the  reader  take  notice),  then  let  those  who  are  in  Judaea  flee  to 
the  mountains;  15  and  let  him  who  is  on  the  housetop  not  come 
down  [[into  the  house]],  nor  enter  in,  to  take  anything  out  of  his 
house;  16  and  let  him  who  is  in  the  field  not  return  to  the  things 
that  are  behind,  to  take  his  cloak.  17  But  woe  to  pregnant  women 
and  to  women  with  babe  at  breast  in  those  days!  18  And  pray  that 
[  [your  flight]  ]  may  not  take  place  in  winter.  19  For  in  those  days 
shall  be  'an  ordeal,  such  as  the  like  has  not  happened  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  universe'  (which  God  established)  'until  now,'  and 
shall  not  [again]  happen.  20  And  unless  the  Master  had  cut  short 
those  days,  not  an  embodied  being  w^ould  have  been  saved ;  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  select,  whom  he  has  chosen,  he  has  cut  short  the  days. 

21  And  then  if  any  one  shall  say  to  you,  'Behold,  here  is  the 
Anointed!'  or,  'Behold,   [he  is]  there!'  do  not  believe   [him]. 

22  For  pretended  Anointeds  and  pretended  seers  will  arise,  and 
'will  give  signs  and  ivonders,'  to  mislead,  if  possible  [  [even]  ]  the 
select.  23  But  be  on  your  guard.  Behold,  I  have  foretold  to 
you  all  things.  24  But  in  those  days,  after  that  ordeal,  'the  sun 
shall  he  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  25  and 
the  stars  shall  be  falling  from  the  sky,  and  the  powers  which  are  in 
the  sky  shall  be  shaken.'  26  And  then  'they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
coming  in  clouds  zvith  great  pozver  and  glory' ;  2y  and  then  he  shall 
send  his  Divinities,  and  'shall  gather  together'  his  select  'from  the 
four  winds,  from  the  extremity  of  the  earth  to  the  extremity  of  the 
sky/ 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  549 

COMMENTARY 

Any  temple  where  a  widow's  last  mite  would  be  cheerfully  re- 
ceived should  very  properly  be  razed  to  the  ground ;  but  as  the 
"temple"  here  is  an  allegorical  one,  that  point  need  not  be  pressed. 
According  to  the  falsified  text,  however,  it  was  the  temple  at  Jeru- 
salem that  was  to  be  destroyed,  and  that  event  was  to  be  followed 
by  the  reappearance  of  the  Messiah  and  the  cataclysmal  end  of  the 
world.  As  the  "prophecy"  was  undoubtedly  written  many  years 
after  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  it  was  "fulfilled"  in  that  retro- 
spective particular;  but  the  dismal  failure  of  the  rest  of  it  has  proved 
that  the  forgers  were  rash  in  attempting  to  predict  anything  that 
had  not  already  taken  place.  Here  they  have  taken  a  superb  allegory 
of  the  awakening  of  the  soul  and  converted  it  into  a  fantastic 
prophecy  of  the  "second  coming"  of  a  Messiah  who  did  not  come 
in  the  first  instance  save  in  the  pages  of  their  religious  romance. 
Yet  the  original  allegory  of  the  "second  birth"  shows  out  through 
the  dark  superstitions  they  have  written  into  it. 

In  verse  14  lesous,  while  speaking  to  his  disciples,  addresses  "the 
reader."  The  "historian"  who  enriched  the  discourse  probably  over- 
looked the  fact  that  it  was  an  oral  one. 

Ch.  XIII.  28-37 

28  "Now,  from  the  fig-tree  understand  the  allegory:  when 
her  branch  has  already  become  tender,  and  puts  forth  leaves, 
you  know  that  summer  is  near ;  29  so  you  also,  when  you  see 
these  things  happening,  know  that  [the  kingdom  of  God]  is 
near,  right  at  the  doors.  30  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  This  generative- 
sphere  shall  not  at  all  pass  away  until  all  these  things  shall  have 
happened.  31  The  sky  and  the  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my 
arcane  doctrines  shall  not  pass  away.  32  But  as  regards  that 
day,  or  the  hour,  no  one  knows,  not  even  the  Divinities  in  the 
sky,  nor  yet  the  Son  (except  the  Father).  33  Keep  guard, 
watch  [  [and  pray]  ]  ;  for  you  know  not  when  the  season  is.  34 
[For  the  Son  is]  like  a  man  away  from  home,  having  left  his 
house,  and  having  given  authority  to  his  slaves,  to  each  one  his 


550  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

work;  and  he  has  commanded  the  doorkeeper  that  he  should 
watch.  35  Watch,  therefore,  for  you  do  not  know  when  the 
master  of  the  house  is  coming,  whether  in  the  evening,  or  at 
midnight,  or  at  cock-crowing,  or  in  the  morning ;  36  lest  com- 
ing unexpectedly  he  should  find  you  sleeping.  37  And  what  I 
say  to  you  I  say  to  all,  Watch !" 

COMMENTARY 

The  preceding  allegory  is  here  elucidated  by  the  imagery  of  the 
leafing  out  of  the  fig-tree.  It  is  not  the  allegory  of  the  fig-tree,  but 
the  explanation  of  the  allegory  by  means  of  the  fig-tree.  The 
lacuna  in  verse  29  is  filled  in  by  the  revisers,  "he  is  near,"  with  a 
marginal  second  guess  as  "it" ;  but  quite  evidently  the  kingdom  is 
intended. 

Chapter  xiv.  i-ii 

I  Now,  after  two  days  it  was  [the  feast  of]  the  passover  and  the 
unleavened  bread ;  and  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes  were  seeking 
how  they  might  lay  hold  of  him  by  guile,  and  kill  him ;  2  for  they 
said: 

"Not  during  the  feast,  lest  perchance  there  shall  be  an  uproar  of 
the  common  people." 

3  And  while  he  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house  of  Simon  the 
leper,  as  he  was  reclining  [at  table],  a  woman  came,  having  an 
alabaster  flask  of  genuine  oil  of  spikenard,  very  expensive ;  and 
having  broken  [the  neck  of]  the  flask,  she  poured  [the  oil]  over 
his  head.  4  And  some  were  indignant  among  themselves; 
[  [and  they  said]]  : 

"Wherefore  has  taken  place  this  waste  of  the  oil?  5  For  this 
oil  could  have  been  sold  for  above  three  hundred  denarii,  and  given 
to  the  poor." 

And  they  were  very  angry  at  her.    6  But  lesous  said  : 

"Let  her  alone.  Why  do  you  cause  her  pain  ?  She  has  performed 
a  gracions  deed  on  me.  7  For  you  have  the  poor  with  you  always, 
and  you  can  [[always]]  do  them  good  whenever  you  wish;  but  me 
you  do  not  have  always.     8  She  has  done  what  she  could :  she  has 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  551 

in  anticipation  anointed  my  body  for  the  burial.  9  Amen,  I  say  to 
you,  Wherever,  throughout  the  whole  world,  the  good  tidings  shall 
be  proclaimed,  that  also  which  this  [woman]  has  done  shall  be 
spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of  her." 

10  And  loudas  Iskariotes,  the  destined  one  of  the  twelve,  went 
away  to  the  chief-priests,  that  he  might  hand  him  over  to  them. 
II  And  they  rejoiced  when  they  heard  [him],  and  promised  to  give 
him  money.  And  he  kept  deliberating  how  he  might  opportunely 
hand  him  over. 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  of  the  dinner  at  Simon's  house  should  properly  follow 
that  of  the  healing  of  Simon's  wife's  mother,  Ch.  i.  29-31.  It  is 
repeated  almost  verbatim  in  Mattlicw,  but  is  far  better  told  in  Luke, 
where  it  is  dramatic  and  powerful,  though  disfigured  by  the  usual 
theological  additions  by  the  forgers.  Here  in  Mark  the  woman  is 
made  to  anoint  the  head  of  lesous,  not  his  feet,  and  the  fact  that  she 
was  a  fallen  woman  is  suppressed.  The  point  of  the  story  having 
thus  been  destroyed,  a  new  meaning  was  given  it  by  inserting  the 
implausible  statement  that  she  had  anticipated  the  anointing  of  the 
dead  body  of  lesous,  and  the  suggestion  by  the  disciples  that  the  oil 
should  have  been  sold  and  the  proceeds  given  to  the  poor.  In  the 
text  of  Luke  the  story  is  a  protest  against  sanctimoniousness ;  but 
the  variant  of  it  in  Mark  and  Matthew  is  sanctimonious  to  the  last 
degree. 

As  lesous  was  openly  appearing  before  the  people,  and  was  known 
by  all,  it  is  a  mystery  why  the  priests  should  have  required  the  ser- 
vices of  loudas.  The  situation  afforded  no  possible  need  of  a 
"traitor."  The  priests  had  only  to  lay  their  hands  on  lesous  at  any 
time  they  could  muster  up  courage  to  do  so.  If  loudas  was  guilty 
of  anything,  it  was  of  obtaining  money  under  a  false  pretence. 

Ch.  XIV.  12-16 

12  And  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread,  when  they  sac- 
rificed the  [young  ram  at  the]  passover,  his  disciples  say  to 
him: 


552  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Where  do  you  wish  us  to  go  and  make  ready  that  you  may 
eat  the  passover?" 

1 3  And  he  sends  away  two  of  his  disciples,  and  says  to  them : 
"Go  into  the  city,  and  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water  will 
meet  you;  14  and  wherever  he  may  enter  in,  say  to  the  lord 
of  the  house,  'The  Teacher  says,  "Where  is  the  dining-room, 
where  I  may  eat  the  passover  with  my  disciples?"  '  15  And  he 
will  himself  show  you  a  large  upper  room  spread  [with  couches 
and  tables],  ready.    There  make  ready  for  us." 

16  And  the  disciples  went  away,  and  came  into  the  city,  and 
found  [the  Water-bearer],  just  as  he  had  said  to  them;  and 
they  made  ready  the  passover. 

COMMENTARY 

The  text  here  has  been  left  less  complete  than  in  Luke,  while  the 
parallel  passage  in  Matthczv  has  had  most  of  the  details  erased  from 
it  in  the  attempt  to  conceal  the  astronomical  meaning  of  the  allegory, 
an  attempt  that  could  not  be  other  than  futile,  since  the  Jewish  pass- 
over  is  in  fact  a  celebration  of  the  vernal  equinox,  a  time  when  the 
sun  passes  over  the  equator. 

Ch.  XIV.  17-25 

17  And  when  evening  arrived,  he  comes  with  the  twelve.  18 
And  as  they  were  reclining  [at  table]  and  were  eating,  lesous 
said  : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you.  One  among  you  will  hand  me  over, 

'Jic  zvho  is  eating  zviih  me.'  " 

19  And  they  began  to  be  grieved,  and  to  say  to  him  one  by 
one: 

"Not  I,  I  hope?"     [[And  another  said,  "Not  I,  I  hope?"]] 

20  But  he  [[answered  and]]  said  to  them: 

"[It  is]  one  of  the  twelve,  he  who  is  dipping  with  me  in  the 
[[one]]  bowl.  21  For  the  Son  of  man  goes  [to  his  death],  as 
it  is  written  concerning  him ;  but  woe  to  that  man  through 
whom  the  Son  of  man  is  handed  over!  It  were  good  for  him  if 
that  man  had  not  been  born  !" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  553 

22  And  as  they  were  eating,  he  took  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  hav- 
ing blessed  it,  he  broke  it  in  pieces,  and  gave  [the  portions]  to 
them,  and  said : 

"Take,  [  [eat]  ]  :  this  is  my  body." 

2'}^  And  he  took  a  wine-cup,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks, 
he  gave  it  to  them,  and  they  all  drank  from  it.  24  And  he  said 
to  them : 

"This  is  my  blood  'oj  the  nezv  covenant,'  which  is  poured  out 
for  many.  25  Amen,  I  say  to  you.  Nevermore  shall  I  drink  of 
the  product  of  the  vine  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  in 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

COMMENTARY 

Save  for  a  passing  reference  to  the  paschal  lamb  (erroneously 
called  "the  passover")  and  the  unleavened  bread,  there  is  nothing 
Jewish  in  the  preparations  made  for  the  celebration ;  and  the  so- 
called  "Lord's  .Supper"  itself,  as  described  in  the  text,  has  not  even 
a  touch  of  Jewish  local  color.  On  the  contrary,  the  "loaf"  men- 
tioned might  have  been  of  Greek  baking  and  the  "wine"  have  been 
of  the  vintage  of  Bakchos.  That  the  "communion"  belonged  to  the 
ritual  of  the  solar  cult  is  unquestionable.  Justin  Martyr  (ApoL,  ii) 
incautiously  admits  that  this  rite  in  which  bread  and  wine  are  par- 
taken of  as  symbolizing  the  flesh  and  blood  of  tlie  Sun-God  had 
been  celebrated  from  time  immemorial  in  the  mysteries  and  minis- 
trations of  ]\Iithras.  In  the  Eleusinian  ^Mysteries  it  took  the  form 
of  the  eating  of  the  KVKeatv,  the  sacred  "mixture,"  a  sort  of  thick 
soup  which  was  "both  food  and  drink";  and  this  ceremony  was 
followed  by  the  TrapaSocrt?  twv  lepcov,  the  "giving  in  turn  of  the 
sacred  objects,"  each  initiate  handing  them  over  to  the  next. 

The  scriptural  prophecy  referred  to  in  verse  21  is  not  contained 
in  any  known  scripture. 

Ch.  XIV.  26-42 

26  And  when  they  had  chanted  an  ode,  they  went  to  the 
mountain  of  the  olive-trees,    zy  And  lesous  says  to  them: 

"You  will  all  be  caused  to  fall  away  [  [in  regard  to  me,  during 
this  night]]  ;  for  it  is  written,  'I  will  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the 


554  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

sheep  shall  be  scattered  abroad/     28  But  after  1  have  been  raised 
[from  the  dead],  I  shall  precede  you  into  Galilee." 

29  But  Petros  said  to  him : 

"Even  if  all  [the  others]  shall  be  caused  to  fall  away,  yet  I 
will  not." 

30  And  lesous  says  to  him : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you.  To-day,  this  night,  before  the  cock  crows 
twice,  you  will  utterly  deny  me  thrice." 

31  But  he  exclaimed  vehemently : 

"If  it  were  inevitable  for  me  to  die  with  you,  I  shall  in  no  wise 
deny  you." 

And  they  all  spoke  in  the  same  strain. 

32  And  they  come  to  an  enclosure,  the  name  of  which  is 
Gethsemane ;  and  he  says  to  his  disciples: 

"Sit  here,  while  I  pray." 

33  And  he  takes  with  him  Petros,  lakobos  and  loannes;  and 
he  began  to  be  stunned  and  depressed.  34  And  he  says  to 
them: 

"  'My  soul  is  deeply  griercd,'  even  to  death.  Remain  here  and 
watch." 

35  And  having  gone  forward  a  little,  he  fell  on  the  ground, 
and  prayed  that  if  it  were  possible  the  hour  might  pass  away 
from  him.    36  And  he  said  : 

"Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  possible  to  thee:  remove  this  cup 
from  me — yet  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wiliest." 

T,-/  And  he  comes,  and  finds  them  sleeping,  and  he  says  to 
Petros : 

"Simon,  are  you  sleeping?  Were  you  not  able  to  watch  one 
hour?  38  Watch,  and  pray  that  you  may  not  enter  into  temp- 
tation.   The  spirit  indeed  is  eager,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." 

39  And  again  he  went  away  and  prayed,  [[saying  the  same 
speech]].  40  And  again  he  came,  and  found  them  sleeping 
(for  their  eyes  were  weighed  down)  ;  and  they  did  not  know 
what  answ^er  they  should  give  him.  41  And  he  comes  the  third 
time,  and  says  to  them: 

"Are  you  sleeping  already  and  taking  your  rest?     [Sleep] 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  555 

keeps  far  [from  me] :  the  hour  has  come.  Behold,  the  Son  of 
man  is  delivered  over  into  the  hands  of  sinners  !  42  Arise ;  let 
us  be  going.  Behold,  he  who  is  handing  me  over  has  drawn 
near." 

COMMENTARY 

The  "prophecy"  quoted  from  Zccliariali  (xiii.  7)  is  obtained  by 
juggling  the  words  of  a  command  which  reads,  "Awake,  O  sword, 
.  .  .  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered."  The 
promise  of  lesous  to  precede  his  disciples  into  Galilee  was  probably 
inserted  by  the  forger  who  added  the  spurious  ending  to  the  Gospel; 
it  is  repeated  in  xvi.  7. 

The  lesous  of  the  Hellenic  allegory,  as  a  neophyte  nndergoing  the 
ordeals  of  initiation,  is  a  figure  sublime  and  heroic;  but  the  pseudo- 
lesous  of  the  ecclesiastical  forgers,  who  have  attempted  to  depict 
him  as  the  only  Son  of  God  and  a  world-savior,  acts  his  part  like  an 
incompetent  understndy  of  the  real  hero  of  the  drama.  Though  he 
is  supposed  to  be  God  incarnated  to  offer  himself  up  as  a  voluntary 
sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of  humanity,  he  yet  prays  mournfully  to 
the  Father  to  save  him  from  the  sacrifice.  His  request  is  refused: 
either  all  things  were  not  possible  to  God,  or  he  v.'as  deaf  to  the  sup- 
plication of  his  Son.  According  to  this  extraordinary  interpolation, 
it  was  not  the  will  of  lesous  to  be  crucified,  but  the  will  of  his  Father, 
to  which  he  sadly  submitted.  Yet  he  was  not  to  suffer  the  full 
penalty  imposed — by  Christian  theology — upon  mankind,  that  is, 
eternal  torment.  For  he  was  to  remain  but  three  days  in  Hades ; 
or,  rather,  his  physical  body  was  to  be  three  days  in  Hades  ("the 
grave,"  not  "hell"),  while  his  spirit,  according  to  his  own  words 
{Luke  xxiii.  43)  was  to  be  in  Paradise.  A  brave  man  faces  death 
fearlessly;  and  no  man  of  true  nobility  of  character  would  accept 
"salvation"  at  the  expense  of  an  unwilling  proxy. 

Ch.  XIV.  43-52 

43  And  immediately,  while  he  was  yet  speaking,  comes  lou- 
das,  one  of  the  twelve,  and  with  him  a  [[large]]  crowd,  with 
swords  and  clubs,  from  the  chief-priests,  the  scribes  and  the 


556  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

elders.  44  Now,  he  who  hands  him  over  had  given  them  a  con- 
certed sign,  saying : 

"Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  that  is  he ;  seize  him  and  lead  him 
away  safely." 

45  And  when  he  had  come,  immediately  he  came  to  him,  and 
says: 

''Rabbi, [\ Rabbi]],"  and  kissed  him  again  and  again.  46  And 
they  laid  [  [their]]  hands  on  him  and  seized  him.  47  But  a  cer- 
tain one  of  the  l^ystanders  drew  his  sword  and  struck  the  high- 
priest's  slave,  and  took  off  his  ear.  48  And  lesous  answered 
and  said  to  them : 

"Have  you  come  out,  as  against  a  bandit,  with  swords  and 
clubs  to  apprehend  me  ?  49  Daily  I  was  with  you  in  the  temple, 
teaching;  and  you  did  not  seize  me.  But  [this  Jias  come  aboitt] 
that  the  scriptures  might  be  fulfilled." 

50  And  they  all  left  him,  and  fled.  51  And  a  certain  young 
man  tried  to  follow  in  company  with  him,  having  a  linen  cloth 
thrown  about  [his]  naked  .  .  .  And  [[the  young  men]]  seize 
him;  52  but  he  relinquished  the  linen  cloth,  and  fled  [[from 
them]]  naked. 

COMMENTARY 

According  to  JoJin  (xviii.  10)  the  bystander  who  lopped  off  the 
slave's  ear  was  Petros;  and  evidently  he  was  named  in  the  Synoptics 
as  the  guilty  party,  for  Ltike  (xxii.  36-38)  provides  the  disciples 
w^ith  swords  for  the  occasion,  to  give  the  incident  an  air  of  plausi- 
bility, since  it  could  hardly  be  presumed  that  the  disciples  habitually 
went  armed.  But,  later,  when  Petros  had  been  adopted  as  the  pa- 
tron saint  of  the  church,  his  name  was  doubtless  expunged  from  the 
text  in  this  latter  incident,  which  was  seen  to  reflect  little  credit  on 
him.  By  oversight,  probably,  the  name  was  retained  in  the  text  of 
JoJiH. 

What  "scriptures"  are  referred  to  in  verse  49  is  unknown.  No 
doubt  the  forger  himself  did  not  know. 

The  linen  cloth,  or  rather  veil,  worn  by  the  young  man  (loudas) 
was  wrapped  about  him  as  a  loin-cloth,  naturally.     The  "redactors" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  557 

have  chastely  left  a  lacuna  in  the  text,  which  the  authorized  version 
innocently  fills  in  with  the  word  "body." 

Cii.  XIV.  53-72 

53  And  lesous  they  led  away  to  the  high-priest;  and  there 
came  together  [[to  him]]  all  the  chief-priests,  the  elders  and 
the  scribes.  54  And  at  a  distance  Petros  had  followed  him,  as 
far  as  within,  to  the  high-priest's  court ;  and  he  was  sitting  with 
the  servants,  and  warming  himself  at  the  fire.  55  And  the 
chief-priests  and  the  whole  council  were  seeking  evidence 
against  lesous,  to  put  him  to  death;  but  were  not  finding  [any]. 
56  For  many  were  offering  false  testimony  against  him;  but 
their  testimonies  were  not  consistent.  57  And  some  stood  up 
and  offered  false  testimony  against  him,  saying : 

58  "We  heard  him  say,  'I  shall  destroy  this  sanctuary  made 
by  hands,  and  in  three  days  I  shall  build  another  not  made  by 
hands.'  " 

59  And  not  even  so  was  their  testimony  consistent.  60 
And  the  high-priest  stood  up  in  the  midst  and  interrogated 
lesous,  saying : 

"Do  you  answer  nothing?  What  [is  it]  that  these  [wit- 
nesses] are  testifying  against  you?" 

61  But  he  was  silent,  and  answered  nothing.  Again  the  high- 
priest  interrogated  him,  and  says  to  him : 

"Are  you  the  Anointed,  the  Son  of  the  Blessed?'' 

62  And  lesous  said : 

"I  am.  And  'you  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  sifting  at  the  right 
hand  of  Power,  and  coming  zvith  the  clouds  of  tJie  sky.'  " 

63  And  the  high-priest  tore  his  clothes,  and  says : 

"What  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses?  64  You  have 
heard  the  impious  assertion.    How  does  it  seem  to  you?" 

And  they  all  adjudged  him  to  be  liable  to  the  death-sentence. 
65  And  some  began  to  spit  upon  him.  and  cover  up  his  face,  and 
box  his  ears,  and  say  to  him,  "Divine  [who  struck  you]."  And 
the  attendants  took  him  with  blows  [of  their  rods]. 

66  And  while  Petros  was  sitting  below  in  the  court,  one  of 


558  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  slave-girls  of  the  high-priest  comes,  67  and  seeing  Petros 
warming  himself,  she  looked  at  him  and  says: 

"You  also  were  with  the  Nazarene  lesous." 

68  But  he  denied,  saying : 

"I  neither  know  nor  have  any  intuition  of  what  you  are  say- 
ing." 

And  he  went  outside  to  the  exterior  court.  [  [And  the  cock 
crowed.]]  69  And  the  slave-girl  saw  him,  and  began  again  to 
say  to  the  bystanders: 

"This  [man]  is  [one]  of  them." 

70  And  again  he  denied  it.  And  after  a  little,  again  the  by- 
standers said  to  Petros: 

"Really  you  are  [one]  of  them;  for  you  are  a  Galilsean  [[and 
your  dialect  is  similar]]." 

71  But  he  began  to  assert  with  imprecations  and  oaths: 
'I  do  not  know  this  man  of  whom  you  are  speaking." 

y2  And  immediately  the  cock  crowed  a  second  time.  And 
Petros  remembered  the  saying,  how  lesous  had  said  to  him, 
"Before  the  cock  crows  twice,  you  will  deny  me  thrice."  And 
when  he  reflected  [on  the  saying],  he  wept. 

COMMENTARY 

This  semi- farcical  trial,  or  rather  preliminary  examination, 
might  well  have  formed  part  of  the  proceedings  in  a  secret  so- 
ciety; but  it  is  improbable  that  it  could  have  taken  place  before 
the  dignified  Jewish  sanhedrim.  In  Mark  and  Matthew  lesous  is 
definitely  accused  of  but  one  crime,  blasphemy,  for  which  the  Jewish 
law  {Lev.  xxiv.  12-16)  provided  the  death-penalty;  but  in  Luke 
he  is  accused  also  of  sedition  w4ien  the  chief -priests  bring  him  before 
the  civil  magistrate. 

The  quotation  (verse  62)  from  the  symbolical  vision  in  Daniel 
(vii.  13)  refers  to  the  Nous,  or  Logos,  whose  fourfold  manifested 
powers,  personified  by  the  four  "beasts"  who  are  regents  of  the 
zodiacal  cjuarters,  are  enumerated  in  the  chapter  from  which  the 
quotation  is  taken.  For  the  "visions"  of  Daniel,  despite  later  at- 
tempts to  convert  them  into  historical  prophecies,  hold  the  same 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  559 

secret  meanings  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  "visions"  of  the  Apoca- 
lyptist,  and  relate  wholly  to  things  spiritual. 

Chapter  xv,  1-15 

I  And  immediately  in  the  morning  the  chief-priests,  with  the 
elders  and  scribes,  and  the  whole  council,  held  a  consultation; 
and  they  bound  lesous,  and  carried  him  away,  and  handed  him 
over  to  Pilate.    2  And  Pilate  interrogated  him : 

"You  are  the  king  of  the  Jews?" 

And  he,  answering,  says  to  him : 

"You  say  [it].     [[?]]" 

3  And  the  chief-priests  kept  accusing  him  of  many  things.  4 
And  Pilate  again  interrogated  him,  saying : 

"Do  you  answer  nothing?  See  how  many  things  they  are 
testifying  against  you." 

5  But  lesous  no  more  answered  anything,  so  that  Pilate  won- 
dered. 6  Now,  at  a  festival  he  used  to  release  to  them  one 
prisoner,  [any  one]  for  whom  they  would  intercede.  7  And 
there  was  the  so-called  Barabbas,  confined  with  his  partisans, 
men  who  in  the  insurrection  had  committed  murder.  8  And 
the  crowd  went  up  and  began  to  entreat  [him  to  do]  as  he  used 
to  do  to  them.    9  And  Pilate  answered  them,  saying: 

"Do  you  wish  I  should  release  to  you  'the  king  of  the  Jews'?" 

10  For  he  perceived  that  [the  chief-priests]  had  handed  him 
over  through  envy.  11  But  the  chief-priests  instigated  the 
crowd  [to  keep  asking]  that  rather  he  should  release  Barabbas 
to  them.    12  And  Pilate  again  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"What,  then,  [[do  you  wish  that]]  I  should  do  to  [him 
whom]  you  call  'the  king  of  the  Jews'  ?" 

13  And  again  they  shouted: 
"Crucify  him!" 

14  And  Pilate  said  to  them: 

"Why,  what  offence  has  he  committed?" 
But  they  cried  out  furiously: 
"Crucify  him!" 


56o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

15  And  Pilate,  l)cing-  disposed  to  gratify  the  crowd,  released 
to  them  Barabbas,  and  handed  over  lesous,  when  he  had 
scourged  him,  to  be  crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

The  account  of  the  trial  accorded  lesous  by  Pilate  is  even  less 
realistic  and  plausible  than  that  of  his  examination  before  the  high- 
priest.  A  Roman  governor,  who  is  credited  with  being  unusually 
kind-hearted  and  merciful,  conducts  a  "trial"  in  which  only  accusing 
witnesses  are  heard,  the  prisoner  standing  mute,  and  no  witnesses 
being  called  in  his  defence.  But  even  in  this  one-sided  proceeding 
the  governor  perceives  that  the  jealous  priests  have  no  real  basis 
for  their  accusation.  He  announces  his  opinion  that  the  prisoner 
is  innocent  and  inofTensive — and  then  sentences  him  to  death  !  More 
than  that,  this  remarkable  Roman  governor  puts  aside  his  official 
dignity  and,  assuming  the  degrading  duties  of  a  common  execu- 
tioner, flogs  the  prisoner.  The  wording  of  the  Greek  is  unequivo- 
cal:  Pilate  himself  flogs  lesous!  That  the  proud  Roman  would 
truckle  to  the  rabble,  juggle  with  justice,  and  dishonor  himself  and 
his  magistracy  by  publicly  wielding  the  lash,  are  things  hardly  to 
be  accepted  as  history.  But  if  the  story  is  non-Roman,  it  is  equally 
non-Jewish.  If  written  by  a  Jew,  the  narrative  would  naturally 
have  a  few  Jewish  touches.    It  has  none. 

Ch.  XV.  16-41 

16  And  the  soldiers  led  him  away  inside  the  court  (that  is, 
the  judgment-hall)  ;  and  they  call  together  the  whole  band.  17 
And  they  array  him  in  a  [kingly]  purple  robe,  and  having 
plaited  a  crown  of  thorns  they  put  it  on  him;  18  and  they 
began  to  salute  him: 

"Hail,  king  of  the  Jews!" 

19  And  they  struck  his  head  with  a  reed,  and  spat  on  him, 
and  bending  their  knees  did  homage  to  him.  20  And  when  they 
had  played  this  childish  game  on  him,  they  disrobed  him  of  the 
purple  and  clothed  him  in  his  own  garments,  and  led  him  out  to 
crucify  him.    21  And  they  press  into  service  a  passer-by,  a  cer- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  561 

tain  Simon,  a  Cyrenian,  coming  from  a  field,  the  father  of  Alex- 
ander and  Riifus,  that  he  might  bear  his  cross. 

22  And  they  bring  him  to  the  Golgotha-place,  that  is,  when 
translated,  "Skull-place."  23  And  they  kept  giving  him  wine 
drugged  with  myrrh;  but  he  would  not  take  it.  24  And  they 
crucify  him,  and  "sort  out  and  distribute"  his  "garments"  among 
themselves,  "throwing  dice"  on  them,  [to  decide]  what  each 
should  take.  25  Now,  it  was  the  third  hour,  and  they  crucified 
him.  26  And  the  inscription  of  his  crime  was  registered,  "The 
King  of  the  Jews."  27  And  with  him  they  crucify  two  bandits, 
one  at  his  right  hand  and  one  at  his  left.  [[28  And  the  scrip- 
ture was  fulfilled  which  says,  "He  zvas  enumerated  zvifh  [the] 
la7(.'Iess."]]  29  And  the  passers-by  kept  speaking  to  him  abu- 
sively, "shaking  their  heads,"  and  saying: 

"Aha,  destroyer  of  the  sanctuary  and  builder  of  it  in  three 
days,    30  save  yourself  and  come  down  from  the  cross!" 

31  In  like  manner  also  the  chief-priests,  playing  a  children's 
game  among  themselves,  with  the  scribes,  said: 

"He  saved  others;  he  can  not  save  himself!  2^2  Let  the 
Anointed,  the  king  of  Israel,  now  come  down  from  the  cross, 
that  we  may  see  and  believe." 

And  [the  two  malefactors]  who  were  crucified  with  him  re- 
proached him. 

1,7,  Now,  when  the  sixth  hour  came,  darkness  settled  over  the 
whole  earth  until  the  ninth  hour;  34  and  at  the  ninth  hour 
lesous  exclaimed  in  a  loud  voice  : 

""  'Eloi,  Eloi,  lama  sahachthanif  "  that  is,  when  translated,  "My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  deserted  me?" 

35  And  some  of  the  bystanders,  when  they  heard  it,  said: 
"Behold,  he  is  calling  to  Helias." 

36  And  one  ran  and  filled  a  sponge  with  sour  wine,  and  having 
put  it  on  a  reed,  gave  him  to  drink,  saying : 

"Let  [him  keep  crying  out]  :  let  us  see  if  Helias  comes  to  take 
him  down." 

37  And  lesous  sent  forth  a  loud  cry,  and  expired.  38  And 
the  curtain  of  the  sanctuary  was  torn  in  two  from  top  to  bottom. 


562  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

39  Now,  when  the  centurion  who  stood  by  opposite  him  saw 
that  he  so  [[cried  out  and]]  expired,  he  said: 

"Truly  tliis  man  was  God's  Son !" 

40  And  there  were  also  women  looking  on  from  afar,  among 
whom  [were]  both  Mariam  the  temple-woman,  and  Mariam  the 
mother  of  the  little  lakobos  and  loses,  and  Salome,  41  they 
who  followed  him  and  served  him  when  he  was  in  Galilee ;  and 
many  other  women  who  came  up  with  him  to  Jerusalem. 

COMMENTARY 

Pilate  could  afford  to  be  utterly  undignified ;  but  Simon  Petros, 
the  fabled  first  Bishop  of  Rome,  had  to  be  spared  the  indignity  of 
being  impressed  to  carry  the  cross.  Therefore  he  is  changed  into 
"a  certain  Simon,  a  Cyrenian,"  even  as  he  had  formerly  been  dis- 
guised as  "Simon  the  leper,"  and  as  "a  certain  bystander"  who  cut 
off  a  slave's  ear;  he  thus  suffered  from  the  same  "disease  of  the 
personality"  that  caused  loudas  to  lose  his  identity  as  "a  certain 
young  man,"  and  at  times  to  be  metamorphosed  into  Simon. 

The  interpolation  in  verse  24,  about  the  casting  of  dice  over  the 
distribution  of  the  garments,  is  so  clumsily  inserted  that  the  state- 
ment, "they  crucified  him,"  had  to  be  repeated.  Apparently  the 
forger  intended  to  quote  Psalms  xxii.  18  as  a  "prophecy"  and  claim 
that  it  was  fulfilled,  but  did  not  fully  carry  out  his  intention  upon 
discovering  that  he  had  missed  his  bearings  in  the  manuscript. 

The  priests  do  not  simply  "mock  him  among  themselves,"  as  the 
authorized  version  has  it.  They  play  a  children's  game,  as  did  the 
soldiers  and  the  minions  of  the  high-priest.  What  that  "game"  was 
is  not  stated ;  but  it  is  discoverable  in  the  text :  they  pretend  to  preach 
at  the  Crucified,  using  hackneyed  proverbs  for  their  texts,  as  "Physi- 
cian, heal  yourself,"  which  in  Luke  iv.  23  is  frankly  quoted  as  a 
"proverb."  The  verb  sozein  means  both  "to  heal"  and  "to  save." 
The  proverb  is  not  directly  quoted  here,  but  is  unmistakably  referred 
to.  Similarly  the  words,  "that  we  may  see  and  believe,"  allude  to 
the  old  saw,  "Seeing  is  believing." 

According  to  Luke  one  of  the  two  malefactors  crucified  with, 
lesous  reproaches  him,  while  the  other  repents;  but  according  to 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  563 

Mark  and  Mattheiv  they  both  revile  him.  The  former  version  is 
by  far  the  more  dramatic,  and  it  accords  with  the  allegory. 

The  pun  on  Eloi  and  Hclias  is  forced  and  foolish.  There  is  a 
similar  one  on  helios  (the  sun)  and  Hclias.  (Elijah)  in  John  i.  21. 

The  last  words  of  lesous,  a  cry  of  despair  uttered  by  the  unwill- 
ingly sacrificed  Son  of  God,  are  taken  from  Psalms  xxii.  i,  from 
which  the  forgers  also  obtained  the  incident  of  the  soldiers  casting 
lots.  Better  would  it  have  been  for  lesous  to  have  accepted  the 
drugged  wine  and  gone  in  stupefaction  dumbly  to  his  doom  than  to 
have  broken  down  and  uttered  that  unmanly  cry  of  anguish,  when 
the  two  thieves  stoically  endured  to  the  end.  Yet  a  second  time  the 
soldiers  are  represented  as  trying  to  silence  him  with  drugs  and 
alcoholic  drink.  i\s  dramatists  the  forgers  lacked  all  artistic  instinct. 
Apparently  they  tried  to  copv  after  the  magnificent  katastrophe  of 
Prometheus  Chained;  but,  whereas  Prometheus  defying  the  tyrant 
Zeus,  the  Sire,  and  calling  upon  Earth  and  iEther  to  behold  the 
wrongs  he  suffers,  reaches  the  height  of  sublimity,  the  spectacle  of 
lesous  reproaching  his  heavenly  Father  for  having  forsaken  him 
is  only  weak  and  pitiful.  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  seem  almost 
certain  that  Aischylos  derived  his  inspiration  from  the  great  Eleu- 
sinian  Mystery-drama  of  which  the  Gospels  are  a  garbled  version. 

The  credulity  ascribed  to  the  centurion  is  preposterous.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  story  of  the  crucifixion,  as  here  told,  that  is  out  of  the 
ordinary,  except  the  darkening  of  the  sky  and  the  rending  of  the 
curtain  of  the  temple,  and  the  latter  the  centurion  could  not  have 
seen.  The  stern  Roman  soldier,  witnessing  the  crucifixion  of  a  man 
who,  in  contrast  with  the  two  malefactors  on  either  side  of  him, 
displays  no  fortitude,  promptly  decides  that  he  must  have  been  the 
Son  of  God — instead  of  being  moved  to  contempt  by  his  pusilla- 
nimity, as  a  soldier  naturally  would  have  been. 

lakobos  and  loannes  are  here  disguised  as  "lakobos  the  Little" 
and  "Idses."  Their  mother,  Mariam,  manifests  a  double  as  "Sa- 
lome" ;  for  in  the  text  of  Matthew  Salome  is  not  named,  but  is  called 
the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedaios.  The  devices  employed  by  the 
forgers  to  conceal  the  fact  that  lesous  and  his  five  disciples  were  all 
sons  of  Mariam  are  puerile. 


564  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  XV.  42-47 

42  And  evening  having  now  arrived,  since  it  was  Prepara- 
tion [-day],  that  is,  [the  day]  before  the  sabbath,  came  loseph 
43  (who  was  from  Arimathaea,  an  influential  councillor,  who 
also  himself  was  awaiting  the  kingdom  of  God)  ;  and  having 
picked  up  courage,  he  presented  himself  before  Pilate,  and 
asked  for  the  body  of  lesous.  44  And  Pilate  wondered  if  he 
were  already  dead ;  and  having  summoned  the  centurion,  he 
questioned  him  if  already  he  had  died.  45  And  when  he  had 
ascertained  it  from  the  centurion,  he  presented  the  body  to 
loseph.  46  And  he  bought  a  linen  cloth,  and  having  taken  him 
down,  he  swathed  [him]  in  the  linen  cloth,  and  laid  him  in  a 
monument,  which  was  [a  vault]  that  had  been  hewn  out  of  a 
rock;  and  he  rolled  a  stone  against  the  door  of  the  monument. 
47  And  Mariam  the  temple-woman,  and  Mariam  [the  mother] 
of  loses  saw  where  he  was  laid. 

COMMENTARY 

loseph,  the  cosmos-builder,  father  of  lesous,  is  here  made  to  hail 
from  Arimathaea,  and  is  converted  into  a  pious  senator  and  an  ad- 
ventist !  He  deposits  the  body  of  lesous  in  a  "monument"  or  "me- 
morial" :  the  use  of  this  word,  jxi^rjixelcDV,  is  very  peculiar,  as  it  is 
only  in  the  Nczv  Tcstainent  that  it  is  applied  to  a  tomb,  or  sepulchre. 
It  would  apply  more  correctly  to  the  token  which  was  given  each 
candidate  after  his  initiation,  and  which  was  buried  with  him  when 
he  died.  For  "loses,"  in  verse  47,  some  manuscripts  have  "loseph," 
and  others  "lakdbos." 

Chapter  xvi.  1-8 

I  And  when  the  sabbath  was  past,  Mariam  the  temple- 
woman,  and  Mariam  [the  mother]  of  lakobos,  and  Salome, 
brought  aromatics,  that  when  they  had  come  they  might  anoint 
him.  2  And  very  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  they  come 
to  the  monument  at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  3  And  they  said 
among  themselves : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  565 

"Who  will  roll  away  for  us  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the 
monument?" 

[[But  suddenly  at  the  third  hour  darkness  in  the  daytime  befell 
throughout  the  whole  orb  of  the  earth,  and  Divinities  descended 
from  heaven,  and  rising  in  the  splendor  of  the  living  God  ascended 
together  with  him ;  and  immediately  the  light  returned.  Then  they 
came  to  the  monument.]]  4  And  having  looked  up,  they  see 
that  the  stone  has  been  rolled  away;  for  it  was  exceedingly 
great.  5  And  having  entered  the  monument,  they  saw  a  young 
man  sitting  on  the  right-hand  side,  arrayed  in  a  white  robe ;  and 
they  were  greatly  amazed.    6  But  he  says  to  them: 

"Be  not  amazed.  You  are  seeking  for  lesous,  the  Nazarene. 
who  has  been  crucified.  He  is  risen.  He  is  not  here :  behold, 
[here  is]  the  place  where  they  laid  him!  7  But  go  say  to  his 
disciples,  and  Petros,  'He  is  going  before  you  into  Galilee;  there 
you  will  see  him,  as  he  said  to  you.'  " 

8  And  they  went  out  [[quickly]],  and  fled  from  the  monument; 
for  trembling  and  terror  possessed  them ;  and  they  said  nothing  to 
any  one,  for  they  were  afraid. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Jews  had  no  "week,"  strictly  speaking:  they  simply  num- 
bered the  days,  after  a  lunar  system,  as  the  first,  the  second,  etc., 
and  termed  each  seventh  day  (our  Saturday)  a  sabbath,  or  day  of 
rest.  The  Athenian  week  consisted  of  ten  days.  The  phrase  in  the 
text,  rb>v  cra^/Ba-Tov,  "of  the  sabbaths,"  is  merely  imitative  of  the 
plural  name  of  Hellenic  festivals,  as  Anthesteria,  and  so  is  probably 
a  pseudo-Jewish  substitute  for  "the  seventh  day  of  the  festival." 

The  "young  man"  so  modestly  mentioned  here  is  in  Matthew 
described  as  a  resplendent  "angel,"  that  is,  a  God.  In  Luke,  where 
the  text  has  been  expanded  and  elaborately  falsified,  two  men  make 
their  appearance.  It  seems  that  the  forgers  either  failed  to  perceive, 
or  wished  to  conceal,  the  fact  that  this  "angel"  is  the  risen  lesous 
appearing  in  his  "body  of  the  resurrection" — the  self-luminous  solar 
body. 

The  message  to  the  disciples  is  a  rank  forgery;  but,  though  it  is 


566  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

addressed  to  all  the  disciples,  some  later  "historian,"  not  content 
with  that,  has  carefully  inserted  the  words  "and  Petros" ;  the  impor- 
tance of  Petros  had  to  be  brought  out,  even  at  the  risk  of  the 
ridiculous. 

Cii.  XVI.  9-20 

[[9  Now,  when  he  had  risen  [from  the  dead],  early  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  he  appeared  first  to  Mariam  the  temple-woman, 
from  whom  he  had  cast  out  seven  ghosts.  10  She  went  and  re- 
ported it  to  those  who  had  been  with  him,  [who  were]  mourning 
and  weeping.  1 1  And  they  were  incredulous  when  they  heard  that 
he  is  alive  and  has  been  seen  by  her.  12  And  after  these  things  he 
was  manifested  in  another  form  to  two  of  them,  as  they  were  walk- 
ing, while  going  into  the  country.  13  And  they  went  away  and 
reported  it  to  the  rest;  neither  did  they  believe  them.  14  After- 
wards he  was  manifested  to  the  eleven  as  they  were  reclining  [at 
table],  and  he  reproached  their  disbelief  and  hard-heartedness,  be- 
cause they  had  not  believed  those  who  had  seen  him  after  he  had 
risen  [from  the  dead].  [[And  they  excused  themselves,  saying 
that  this  age  of  lawlessness  and  disbelief  is  under  Satan,  who, 
through  the  agency  of  unclean  spirits,  does  not  permit  the  true 
power  of  God  to  be  apprehended. 

"For  this  reason,"  said  they  to  the  Anointed,  "reveal  now  at  once 
your  righteousness." 

And  the  Anointed  said  to  them  : 

"The  limit  of  the  years  of  Satan's  authority  is  [nof]  fulfilled,  but 
it  is  drawing  near.  But  ....  and  for  the  sake  of  those  who  have 
sinned,  I  was  delivered  up  to  death,  that  they  may  return  to  the  truth 
and  sin  no  more,  but  may  inherit  the  spiritual  and  incorruptible 
glory  of  righteousness  in  heaven."]] 

1 5  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Go  into  all  the  world,  and  proclaim  the  good  tidings  to  the  whole 
universe.  16  He  w^ho  believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he 
who  disbelieves  shall  be  damned.  17  And  these  signs  shall  go  along 
with  the  believers :  in  my  name  they  shall  cast  out  ghosts ;  they  shall 
speak  in  [[strange]]  languages;  18   [[and  in  their  hands]]  they 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MARK  567 

shall  take  up  [venomous]  snakes,  and  if  they  drink  any  deadly 
[poison],  it  shall  not  at  all  harm  them;  they  shall  lay  hands  on  the 
infirm,  and  they  shall  get  well." 

19  Now  therefore  the  Master  [[lesous]],  after  speaking  to  them, 
was  taken  up  into  the  sky,  and  sat  down  at  God's  right  hand.  20 
And  they  went  forth  and  proclaimed  [the  good  tidings]  everywhere, 
the  Master  working  with  them,  and  ratifying  the  doctrine  by  the 
signs  which  are  following  upon  [it].    Amen.]] 

SHORTER  ENDING 

[  [And  they  reported  briefly  to  Petros  and  his  companions  all  the 
things  that  had  been  commanded.  After  these  things  also  Tesous 
himself  sent  out  through  them,  from  the  east  even  to  the  west,  the 
holy  and  incorruptible  proclamation  of  the  aeonian  salvation.]] 

COMMENTARY 

The  passage  from  verses  9  to  20,  inclusive,  is  not  contained  in  the 
two  oldest  known  manuscripts,  the  Vatican  and  the  Sinaitic.  It  is 
regarded  as  spurious  or  doubtful  by  the  ablest  textual  critics,  on  the 
authority  of  the  manuscripts.  Judging  by  the  internal  evidence,  it 
is  an  atrocious  forgery.  It  is  held  to  be  genuine  only  by  those 
"believers"  who  continue  to  believe,  among  other  things,  that  "he 
who  disbelieves  shall  be  damned" ;  but  these  believers,  it  should  be 
noted,  are  not  ambitious  to  demonstrate  their  faith  by  handling 
rattlesnakes  and  drinking  prussic  acid.  In  place  of  this  ending, 
some  manuscripts  give  the  less  objectionable  "shorter  ending,"  as 
above.  The  interpolation  following  verse  14  is  from  one  of  the 
oldest  manuscripts,  the  Washington. 


[[THE  GOOD  TIDINGS]]  ACCORDING 
TO    MATTHEW 

Chapter  i.  1-17 

I   The  Book  of  the  Birth  of  Anointed  lesous,  the  son  of  David, 
the  Son  of  Abraham. 

2  Abraham  begot  Isaac, 
Isaac  begot  Jacob, 

Jacob  begot  Judah,  (and  his  brothers  !) 

3  Judah  begot  Perez,  (and  Zerah  of  Tamar!) 
Perez  begot  Hezron, 

Hezron  begot  Aram, 

4  Aram  begot  Aminadab, 
Aminadab  begot  Nashon, 
Nashon  begot  Sahnon, 

5  Sahnon  begot  Boa",  (of  Rahab!) 
Boaz  begot  Obed,  (of  Ruth  !) 
Obed  begot  Jesse, 

6  Jesse  begot  David  the  king; 

David  begot  Solomon,  (of  [Bathsheba,]  the  [wife]  of  Uriah!) 

7  Solomon  begot  Rehoboam, 
Rehoboam  begot  Abijah, 
Abijah  begot  Asaph, 

8  Asaph  begot  Johoshaphat, 
Jehoshaphat  begot  Joram, 

Joram  begot  [[Ochozias  [  ?  Ahaziah], 
Ochozias  begot  Joash, 
Joash  begot]]  Uzziah, 

9  Uzziah  begot  Jotham, 
Jotham  begot  Ahaz, 
Ahaz  begot  Hezekiah, 

10  Hezekiah  begot  Manasseh, 

S68 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         569 

Manasseh  begot  Amos, 
Amos  begot  Josiah, 

1 1  Josiah  begot  [  [  Jehoiakim, 

Jehoiakim  begot]]  Jechoniah  (and  his  brothers!),  at  the  time  of 
the  migration  to  Babylon ; 

12  and  after  the  migration  to  Babylon,  Jechoniah  begot  Salathiel, 
Salathiel  begot  Zertibbabel, 

13  Zerubbabel  begot  Abitid, 
Abiiid  begot  Ehakim, 
EHakim  begot  Azor, 

14  Azor  begot  Sadoc, 
Sadoc  begot  Achim, 
Achim  begot  Ehud, 

15  Ehud  begot  Eleazar, 
Eleazar  begot  Matthan, 
Matthan  begot  Jacob, 

16  Jacob  begot  Joseph  the  husband  of  Mariam,  of  whom  was  born 
lesous,  the  so-called  "Anointed.'' 

17  Accordingly  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  to  David  are 
fourteen  generations ;  and  from  David  to  the  migration  to  Babylon, 
fourteen  generations :  and  from  the  migration  to  Babylon  to  the 
Anointed,  fourteen  generations. 

COMMENTARY 

The  opening  words,  "The  Book  of  the  Birth  of  Anointed  lesous," 
are  evidently  the  title  of  the  spurious  account  of  the  birth  of  lesous, 
covering  everything  in  the  first  two  chapters,  to  where  the  genuine 
allegory  begins  with  the  appearance  of  loannes,  the  hierophant  of 
the  water-rite ;  and  they  can  not,  without  doing  violence  to  the  Greek 
language,  be  applied  to  the  genealogical  table  as  a  special  heading. 
The  list  of  the  progenitors  of  lesous  is  a  later  interpolation,  which 
in  its  turn  has  also  been  "edited."  It  fairly  bristles  with  errors. 
Not  to  mention  its  minor  inaccuracies,  as  in  the  transliteration  of 
the  Hebrew  names,  it  omits  three  of  the  ancestors,  Ahaziah,  Joash 
and  Amaziah,  thus  erroneously  giving  Joram  as  the  father  of 
Uzziah.    With  these  names  added  (as  is  done  in  later  copies),  the 


570  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"fourteen  generations"  swell  to  seventeen,  and  witii  Jehoiakim 
added  as  a  further  correction,  to  eighteen.  The  third  set  of  "four- 
teen generations"  gives  only  thirteen  steps  of  descent,  and  there  is, 
apparently,  a  lacuna  in  verse  i6,  due  to  alterations  made  necessary 
when  the  story  of  the  antenuptial  pregnancy  (verses  18-25)  was 
foisted  in  the  text.  For  clearly  the  table,  which  gives  the  genealogy 
of  lesous  through  loseph,  was  drawn  up  before  the  doctrine  of 
the  supernatural  birth  had  been  invented;  and  therefore  the  list 
would  naturally  conclude,  as  it  does  in  the  Syriac  Sinaitic,  one  of 
the  oldest  known  manuscripts,  with  the  words,  "Joseph,  to  whom 
was  espoused  the  virgin  Mary,  begot  Jesus,  who  is  called  the  Christ." 
Some  of  the  ancient  pre- Vulgate  Latin  manuscripts  have  the  absurd 
reading,  "The  virgin  Mary  begot  Jesus."  When,  by  the  adoption 
of  the  fable  of  the  divine  impregnation,  loseph  was  deprived  of 
the  honor  of  begetting  lesous,  the  genealogical  table  was  "edited" 
to  make  it  consistent  with  the  new  doctrine,  but  wnth  the  result  that 
the  table,  as  it  now  stands,  is  merely  a  tedious  and  purposeless  di- 
gression, failing  to  show  that  lesous  was  the  son  of  David,  or  of 
any  one  else.  According  to  Matthczv  the  Sacred  Air  (Pneuma) 
begot  lesous;  but  it  seems  that  the  Sacred  Air  (a  female  principle, 
by  the  way)  could  not  boast  of  a  list  of  Jewish  progenitors  going 
back  to  Abraham  and  even,  according  to  Luke,  to  God  himself! 

But  the  most  remarkable  interpolations  in  this  labored  and  oft- 
revised  genealogical  table  are  those  which  could  only  have  been 
written  into  it  by  a  very  unorthodox  humorist.  To  the  list  of  male 
progenitors  the  names  of  four  women  have  been  added,  and  refer- 
ences also  to  the  "brothers"  of  Judah  and  the  "brothers"  of 
Jechoniah.  These  details  are  apparently  quite  irrelevant ;  the  more 
so  as  the  wives  and  brothers  of  the  other  progenitors  are  not 
mentioned.  Yet  the  significance  of  these  interpolations  is  easily 
discoverable.  Tamar,  a  Syrian,  was  a  v^idow  who  disguised  herself 
as  a  prostitute,  enticing  her  father-in-law^  Judah,  to  whom  she  bore 
the  twins  Perez  and  Zerah ;  Rahab,  a  Canaanitish  woman,  was  a 
common  prostitute  before  she  married  Salmon;  Ruth,  a  iMoabitess, 
was  a  widow  who  adopted  very  immodest  tactics  in  her  conquest  of 
Boaz;  and  Bathsheba,  a  Hittite,  became  pregnant  by  the  agency  of 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         571 

David  while  she  was  the  wife  of  Uriah.  The  humorist  who  inserted 
the  names  of  these  four  non-Jewish  women  of  easy  virtue  thus 
covertly  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  story  of  Mary's  miraculous 
pregnancy  was  neither  Jewish  nor  genuine.  His  interpolation  of 
Judah's  "brothers"  is  equally  pungent :  for  the  sons  of  Jacob  are  the 
signs  of  the  zodiac,  as  is  conclusively  shown  in  Genesis  xlix,  where 
they  are  described  as  such  with  much  detail,  Judah  himself  being 
the  sign  Leo.  Jechoniah  had  no  brothers ;  the  text  is  here  corrupt, 
doubtless  through  the  error  of  a  copyist,  who  confused  Jechoniah 
with  Jchoiakim ;  it  should  therefore  read,  "Jehoiakim  and  his  broth- 
ers." Jehoiakim  was  the  literary  vandal  who,  as  told  in  Jeremiah 
xxxvi.  21-23,  slashed  with  a  knife  and  burned  in  a  brazier  the  book 
which  Baruch  had  written  from  the  dictation  of  Jeremiah.  The 
founders  and  propagandists  of  Christianity  who,  in  the  early  cen- 
turies, unscrupulously  falsified  manuscripts  or  destroyed  them  until 
they  almost  wiped  out  the  world's  literature,  in  order  to  conceal  their 
gigantic  fraud  in  imposing  upon  the  world  as  sacred  history  a  muti- 
lated mystical  drama  of  the  Sun-God,  were  indeed  the  "brothers" 
of  Jehoiakim. 

Ch.  I.  18-25 

18  Xow,  the  birth  of  the  Anointed  [[lesous]]  took  place  thus: 
when  his  mother  Mariam  had  been  espoused  to  Joseph,  before  they 
had  cohabited  she  was  found  to  have  [through  impregnation]  by 
the  sacred  Air,  a  [babe]  in  her  womb.  19  So  loseph,  her  husband, 
being  a  strictly  moral  man,  and  [yet]  not  wishing  to  make  an  exam- 
ple of  her,  resolved  to  divorce  her  without  publicity.  20  And  as  he 
was  carefully  considering  these  matters,  behold,  a  Divinity  of  the 
Master  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  saying : 

"loseph,  son  of  David,  do  not  fear  to  take  to  yourself  your  wife 
Mariam;  for  the  [babe]  which  is  nascent  within  her  is  from  the 
sacred  Air.  21  And  she  shall  bear  a  son,  and  you  shall  call  his 
name  lesous,  for  he  it  is  who  from  their  sins  shall  save  his  people." 

22  Now,  all  this  befell  that  fulfilled  might  be  the  promise  by  the 
Master  through  the  prophet,  saying : 


572  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

23  ''Behold,  the  virgin  shall  have  [an  embryo]  in  her  zvomb,  and 

shall  bear  a  son, 
And  they  shall  call  his  name  'EmmanoueV  " — 

that  is,  when  translated,  "God  with  us."  24  And  loseph  awoke 
from  his  sleep,  and  did  as  the  Master's  Divinity  had  commanded 
him,  and  took  to  himself  his  wife;  25  but  he  did  not  know  her 
[carnally]  until  she  had  borne  a  son,  [[her  first-born;]]  and  he 
called  his  name  lesous. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  primitive  social  system  of  the  ancient  Jews  one  form  of 
espousal  was  solemnized  by  cohabitation,  being  in  effect  a  trial  mar- 
riage; but  in  the  more  enlightened  period  from  which  Christianity 
takes  its  date  such  intimacy  was  unlawful,  and  even  the  bride-to-be 
who  became  enceinte  before  marriage  was  liable  to  the  penalty  of 
death.  Reform  schools  and  the  like  had  not  been  instituted;  but 
stones  were  plentiful,  and  when  directed  with  unerring  aim  and 
adequate  velocity  could  be  depended  upon  in  vindicating  the  majesty 
of  the  law  and  ridding  the  community  of  illegally  pregnant  women. 
But  in  the  case  of  loseph  and  Mariam  the  distinction  between  the 
engagement  and  the  marriage  is  so  finely  drawn  that  the  text  seems 
to  have  been  tampered  with.  Quite  probably  in  the  original  fiction 
loseph  and  Mariam  were  said  to  be  really  married ;  and  the  espousal 
w^as  an  afterthought  clumsily  woven  into  the  story  by  merely  chang- 
ing the  word  "married"  to  "espoused."  No  mention  is  made,  either 
here  or  in  Luke,  of  any  marriage  ceremony,  though  marriage  among 
the  Jews  was  a  somewhat  elaborate  affair;  indeed  Luke  (ii.  5,  6) 
leaves  it  to  be  inferred  that  the  babe  was  born  out  of  wedlock.  But 
if  the  couple  were  only  engaged,  the  disclaimer  as  to  their  "coming 
together"  w-ould  be,  in  view  of  the  strict  morality  ascribed  to  loseph, 
not  only  redundant  but  even  an  unkind  remark.  The  forgers  had 
neither  delicacy  nor  artistic  realism. 

Undoubtedly  the  statement  in  verse  18  was,  originally,  only  that 
Mariam  was  found  to  be  pregnant;  the  qualifying  clause,  "by  the 
holy  Pneuma,"  may  safely  be  credited  to  an  unusually  stupid  inter- 
polator, who  has  made  similar  "emendations"  elsewhere  in  the  text, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         573 

as  in  Mai'k  xi.  13,  where  he  exonerates  the  figless  tree  by  explaining 
that  it  was  not  yet  the  season  for  figs.  Those  who  first  noticed  the 
condition  of  Mariam  could  hardly  have  discovered  so  promptly  the 
agency  of  the  Pneiima ;  nor,  if  they  had,  would  Joseph  have  been 
left  in  ignorance  of  it  until  his  mind  was  set  at  rest  by  the  Divinity. 
For  the  annunciation  to  Mariam  by  Gabriel  (the  Regent  of  the 
Scorpio-quarter  of  the  zodiac,  presiding  over  generation)  has  no 
place  in  Matthezv,  that  being  a  happy  inspiration  in  the  fertile  mind 
of  the  compiler  of  Luke.  But  the  astute  Luke  eludes  the  absur- 
dity of  making  the  Pneuma  the  father  of  lesous  by  having  Mariam 
overshadowed  by  the  creative  "power  of  the  Highest  (  ui//to"Tos)," 
a  title,  however,  which  would  naturally  mislead  an  unenlightened 
pagan  into  thinking  that  it  was  applied,  as  usual,  to  Zeus,  who  sat 
on  the  highest  of  the  twelve  Olympian  peaks.  For,  as  Luke  very 
probably  knew,  the  "Holy  Ghost"  was  a  feminine  principle  and  in- 
capable of  becoming  a  father.  In  point  of  fact,  Mariam  herself  is 
but  a  personification  of  the  Pneuma,  or  primordial  element.  Indis- 
putably the  early  Christians  regarded  the  Pneuma  as  the  Mother  of 
lesous;  it  was  only  when  the  progressive  ignorance  of  the  theolo- 
gians had  reached  an  appalling  density  that  She  became  his  Father. 
If  'EfjLfxavovrjX  is  correctly  rendered  "God  with  us,"  it  fails  to 
connect  with  'ItJctov^  ;  for  the  best  the  lexicographers  can  do  wath 
the  latter  word  is  to  transliterate  it  into  Yehoshua,  utilizing  the 
remarkable  flexibility  of  theological  Hebrew,  and  then  speculate  as 
to  whether  it  means  "Savior"  or  "whose  help  is  Jehovah."  But 
"Jehovah"  is  not  a  Hebrew  word ;  it  is  only  a  combination  of  con- 
sonants, the  animating  vowels  having  been  hopelessly  lost,  and  as 
only  two  of  the  three  consonants  in  the  combination  can  be  relied 
upon,  the  other  one  being  a  matter  of  dispute,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion  obtains  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
"word."  The  quotation  from  Isaiah  (vii.  14)  should  read :  "The 
Lord  himself  will  give  you  a  sign :  behold,  the  Virgin  is  with  child 
and  bears  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel."  This  "sign," 
according  to  verse  11,  may  be  "either  in  the  depth,  or  in  the  height 
above."  In  the  latter,  the  sky-vault,  it  is  the  zodiacal  Virgin,  and 
her  pregnancy  is  agricultural,  relating  to  the  autumnal  season,  as 


574  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

symbolized  by  the  ripened  grain  she  holds  in  her  hand ;  while  "in 
the  depth,"  that  is,  on  earth,  she  is  the  "Woman  clothed  with  the 
Sun"  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  her  son,  the  new-born  initiate  who 
has  become  one  with  his  eternal  Self,  is  very  appropriately  named 
"God  with  us."  The  lang-uage  of  Isaiah  is  mystical  throughout;  for 
he  goes  on  to  speak  of  an  Egyptian  fly,  an  Assyrian  bee,  a  razor,  a 
cow  and  two  sheep,  with  other  things,  all  of  which  would  be  quite 
fantastic  in  a  prophecy  of  the  physical  birth  of  an  historical  lesous. 
The  birth  of  the  Sun-God  at  the  winter  solstice,  when  Virgo  is  upon 
the  eastern  horizon,  is  another  matter. 

Chapter  ii.  1-12 

1  Now,  when  Icsous  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judaea,  in  the 
days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold.  Magi  from  the  Orient  came  to 
Jerusalem,  saying: 

2  "Where  is  the  baby  king  of  the  Jews?  For  we  have  seen  his 
star  in  the  sunrising,  and  ha\e  come  to  make  obeisance  to  him." 

3  But  when  Herod  the  king  heard  of  it  he  was  agitated,  and  all 
Jerusalem  with  him.  4  And  having  gathered  together  all  the  chief- 
priests  and  scribes  of  the  people,  he  inquired  of  them  where  the 
Anointed  is  born.     5  And  they  said  to  him  : 

"In  Bethlehem  of  JudcTa;  for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  seers: 

6  'And  thou,  Bethlehem,  land  of  Jiidah, 

Art  by  no  means  least  among  the  governors  of  JiidaJi; 
For  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  a  leader 
Who  shall  shepherd  my  people  Israel.'  " 

7  Then  Herod  secretly  summoned  the  Magi  and  learned  of  them 
with  accuracy  the  time  of  the  seeming  star;  8  and  he  sent  them  to 
Bethlehem  and  said : 

"Go  and  inquire  accurately  about  the  baby,  and  as  soon  as  you 
find  [him]  bring  back  word  to  me,  that  I  also  may  come  and  make 
obeisance  to  him." 

9  And  they,  having  heard  the  king,  departed ;  and,  behold,  the 
star  which  they  saw  in  the  sunrising  kept  going  before  them,  until  it 
came  and  stood  still  above  [the  place]  where  the  baby  was.  10  And 
they  were  in  transports  of  joy  when  they  saw  the  star.     11   And 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         575 

they  came  into  the  house  and  found  the  baby  with  Mariam  his 
mother ;  and  they  fell  down  and  made  obeisance  to  him ;  and  having 
opened  their  caskets  they  presented  him  with  gifts — gold,  frankin- 
cense and  myrrh.  12  And  having  been  occultly  warned  in  a  dream 
not  to  return  to  Herod,  they  went  back  to  their  own  country  by 
another  road. 

COMMENTARY 

The  spurious  portions  of  the  text,  written  as  they  were  by  ig- 
norant men,  have  no  undermeaning  save  when  they  contain  frag- 
ments of  ancient  myths  which  the  forgers  borrowed  and  adapted  in 
fabricating  their  "history."  The  astronomical  version  usually  given 
of  the  story  of  the  Magi  and  the  star  is  that  the  Ma.g[  are  the  three 
stars  in  the  belt  of  Orion,  anciently  called  "the  three  kings,"  which 
are  in  direct  line  with  Sirius.  so  that  when  Orion  rises,  at  the  time 
of  the  winter  solstice,  these  stars  are  apparently  pointing  at  Sirius 
when  it  rises  in  the  east,  seemingly  as  the  herald  of  the  sun,  which 
was  said  to  be  "born"  at  this  time,  because  the  days  begin  to 
lengthen.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  the  author  of  this  story, 
however  freely  he  may  have  appropriated  incidents  from  solar 
myths,  was  not  weaving  an  allegory,  but  was  industriously  writing 
"history."  The  star  which  remained  stationary  must  have  been 
very  close  to  the  earth's  surface  to  indicate  the  precise  locality  where 
the  baby  was  born.  Herod  undoubtedly  had  efficient  spies  in  his 
service,  and  so  could  readily  have  discovered  the  whereabouts  of  the 
baby  whom  he  considered  a  claimant  of  the  throne,  and  that  without 
any  assistance  from  the  Magi  and  the  marvellous  star,  which, 
whether  it  was  the  Dog-star,  an  astrological  planet  or  a  will-o'-the- 
wisp,  belonged  to  lesous,  since  it  is  called  "his  star." 

The  quotation  from  Micah  (v.  2)  is  reworded  to  suit  the  pur- 
pose of  the  forgers.  The  prophecy  in  Micah  states  that  the  ruler  to 
be  born  in  Bethlehem  would  lay  waste  the  land  of  Assyria  with  the 
sword,  and  would  deliver  the  Jews  from  the  invading  Assyrians 
(verses  5,  6)  ;  and  only  a  very  lively  imagination  can  make  this  mar- 
tial leader  prefigure  lesous,  many  centuries  before  whose  day  the 
Assyrians  had  ceased  to  be  troublesome. 


576  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Cii.  II.  13-18 

13  And  when  they  had  gone  back,  behold,  a  Divinity  of  the  Mas- 
ter appeared  in  a  dream  to  loseph,  saying: 

"Arise,  take  the  baby  and  his  mother  with  yon,  and  flee  into 
Egypt,  and  stay  there  nntil  I  tell  you;  for  Herod  purposes  to  search 
for  the  baby  and  kill  him." 

14  And  he  arose  and  took  the  baby  and  his  mother  by  night,  and 
withdrew  into  Egypt,  15  and  was  there  until  Herod's  death,  that 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  Master  through  the 
prophet,  saying: 

"I  have  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt." 

16  Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  had  been  tricked  by  the 
Magi,  was  greatly  enraged,  and  he  sent  forth  [soldiers],  and  put  to 
death  all  the  boys  that  were  in  Bethlehem  and  in  all  its  borders, 
from  two  years  old  and  under,  according  to  the  time  which  he  had 
accurately  inquired  of  the  Magi.  17  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which 
was  spoken  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying : 
18       "In  Ramali  zvas  heard  a  voice, 

[[Lamentation,]]  weeping  and  great  mourning, 

Rachel  weeping  for  her  children; 

And  she  would  not  be  consoled,  because  they  are  not." 

COMMENTARY 

The  story  of  the  slaughter  of  the  male  infants  at  Bethlehem  is  too 
extravagant  to  merit  serious  consideration.  As  the  forgers  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  capable  of  original  invention,  it  is  probable 
that  they  adapted  the  incident  from  some  ancient  legend  or  fable. 

Prophecies  and  their  triumphant  fulfilment  were  a  mania  with  the 
forgers,  and  one  of  their  methods  was  to  manufacture  both  the 
prophecy  and  the  event  foretold.  Hosea  xi.  i  reads :  "When  Israel 
was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt." 
Here  the  "son"  is  Israel,  and  the  reference  is  to  a  past  event,  the 
flight  of  the  Israelites  from  Eg}'pt.  The  "children"  of  Rachel  re- 
ferred to  in  Jeremiah  xxxi.  15  were  the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh,  who  were  carried  into  captivity,  but  who  w^ere,  according 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        577 

to  the  prophet,  to  "come  again  to  their  own  border" ;  the  mourning 
Rachel  of  the  prophet  is  only  a  poetic  figure,  but  as  employed  in 
Matthezv  the  whole  quotation  is  the  veriest  nonsense.  Even  if,  by 
the  wildest  flight  of  a  disordered  imagination,  it  is  regarded  as  a 
"prophecy,"  the  two  deported  tribes  representing  the  butchered 
babes,  and  Rachel  personifying  their  bereaved  mothers,  it  is  still 
difficult  to  account  for  her  going  to  Ramah  to  weep,  as  Ramah  was 
distant  over  twelve  miles  from  Bethlehem,  the  scene  of  the  mas- 
sacre. 

Ch.  II.  19-23 

19  But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  a  Divinity  of  the  Master 
appears  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,    20  saying : 

''Arise  and  take  with  you  the  little  boy  and  his  mother,  and  go 
into  the  land  of  Israel ;  for  they  who  were  seeking  the  little  boy's  life 
are  dead." 

21  And  he  arose  and  took  with  him  the  little  boy  and  his  mother, 
and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel.  22  But  having  heard  that  Arche- 
laus  is  reigning  over  Judaea  in  his  father  Herod's  stead,  he  was 
afraid  to  go  there ;  and  having  been  divinely  instructed  in  a  dream, 
he  withdrew  into  the  districts  of  Galilee,  23  and  came  and  dwelt 
in  a  city  called  Nazaret,  so  that  it  should  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  through  the  prophets,  "He  shall  be  called  a  Nazoraean." 

COMMENTARY 

If  loseph  had  not  been  a  cautious  man,  and  an  exceptionally  good 
dreamer,  the  misleading  information  imparted  to  him  by  the 
Divinity  might  have  led  to  the  sharing  by  lesous  of  the  fate  of  the 
babes  of  Bethlehem.  Were  it  not  that  the  Divinity  is  called  "a 
Divinity  of  the  Lord,"  one  would  be  justified  in  classifying  him  with 
the  untruthful  Divinities  of  the  Adversary;  for  Archelaus  was  pro- 
claimed king  before  his  father  was  buried,  and  had  loseph  relied  on 
the  Divinity's  statement  he  w'ould  have  returned  to  Bethlehem, 
whither  he  was  evidently  journeying  when  he  heard  of  Archelaus. 
It  was  certainly  very  appropriate  that  he  should  be  divinely  in- 
structed in  a  dream  how  to  reach  Nazaret,  for  that  city  belongs 


SyS  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

exclusively  to  dreamland.  It  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  ancient  litera- 
ture save  in  the  Gospels,  in  which  its  name  is  variously  spelled. 
There  is  no  extant  prophecy  referring  to  lesous  as  a  "Nazarene" ; 
nor,  in  fact,  is  there  any  prophecy  referring  to  him  in  any  way. 

Chapter  hi.  1-12 

1  Now,  in  those  days  loannes  the  Lustrator  arrives,  making 
proclamation  in  the  desert  of  Judaea,  saying: 

2  "Reform  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  has  drawn  near !" 

3  For  this  [forerunner]  is  he  who  was  spoken  of  through  Isaiah 
the  prophet,  saying : 

''The  voice  of  one  zvho  in  the  desert  keeps  shouting, 
'The  Master's  icay  prepare  ye, 
Make  ye  his  pathzcays  straight.'  " 

4  Now  loannes'  self  usually  wore  a  camel-hair  mantle,  and  a 
leathern  belt  about  his  loins,  and  his  food  was  locusts  and  wild 
honey.  5  Then  were  going  out  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all 
JudcTea,  and  all  the  country  around  the  Jordan;  6  and  they 
were  lustrated  by  him  in  the  Jordan  river,  their  sins  confessing. 
7  But  when  he  saw  many  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  going 
against  his  lustra!  rite,  he  said  to  them: 

"O  brood  of  vipers,  who  secretly  warned  you  to  flee  from  the 
frenzy  impending?  8  Produce,  therefore,  fruits  worthy  of  re- 
form, 9  and  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves,  'We  have 
Abraham  for  our  father' ;  for  I  say  to  you.  From  these  stones 
God  is  able  to  raise  up  children  to  Abraham.  10  And  even  now 
the  axe  is  being  applied  to  the  root  of  the  trees ;  therefore  every 
tree  that  does  not  produce  good  fruit  is  being  cut  down  and 
thrown  into  the  fire.  1 1  I,  indeed,  lustrate  you  in  Water  to 
reformation;  but  the  [Lustrator]  who  is  coming  after  me  is 
mightier  than  I,  whose  sandals  I  am  not  strong  enough  to 
carry:  he  shall  lustrate  you  with  sacred  Air  and  Fire;  12 
whose  winnowing-fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  cleanse  thor- 
oughly his  threshing-floor,  and  will  gather  his  wheat  into  his 
granary,  but  the  chaff  he  will  bum  up  with  unquenchable  fire." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         579 

COMMENTARY 

The  compiler  of  Matthew  displays  more  bitterness  against  the 
dummy  Pharisees  who  are  made  to  figure  in  the  "history"  than  do 
the  other  Synoptists;  and  here  he  has  allowed  part  of  loannes' 
denunciation  of  them  to  retain  its  proper  place  in  the  text,  while 
eliminating  the  three  other  castes  and  transferring  the  discourses  of 
loannes  to  them  to  the  "Sermon  on  the  Mount"  and  other  discourses 
of  lesous.  If  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  "coming  to"  the 
baptism  of  loannes,  as  translated  in  the  authorized  version,  his  dis- 
courteous words  to  them  would  seem  to  be  unwarranted  ;  but  Ipx^- 
fX€Pov<;  iirC  here  seems  to  be  used  for  eTTep)(6ixevov<i,  in  the  sense 
of  "going  against"  or  "attacking."  The  many  solecisms  in  the 
text  bring  to  mind  the  words  of  Diogenes :  "Do  you  not  see  that 
since  these  sprinklings  can  not  repair  your  grammatical  errors,  they 
can  not  repair,  either,  the  faults  of  your  life?" 

Here,  as  in  Luke,  lesous  is  described  as  the  Fan-bearer,  Dionysos ; 
and  the  curious  phraseology  of  the  passage  would  indicate  that  it  is 
a  quotation,  unskilfully  turned  into  prose,  from  a  poem. 

Ch.  III.  13-17 

13  Then  lesous  arrives  from  Galilee  at  the  Jordan,  to  loan- 
nes, that  he  might  be  lustrated  by  him.  14  But  loannes  tried 
to  restrain  him,  saying : 

"I  have  need  to  be  lustrated  by  you,  and  do  you  come  to  me?" 

15  But  lesous,  answering,  said  to  him: 

"Let  [me  be  consecrated]  now;  for  thus  it  is  befitting  for  us 
to  comply  with  every  essential  formality." 

Then  he  let  him  [be  consecrated].  [[And  when  he  w^as  lus- 
trated a  very  great  light  shone  around  from  the  water,  so  that 
all  who  approached  were  afraid.]]  16  And  lesous,  when  he 
had  been  lustrated,  immediately  rose  up  from  the  water,  and 
behold,  the  skies  were  opened  [  [to  him]],  and  he  saw  God's  Air 
descending  like  a  dove  [[and]]  coming  upon  him;  17  and 
behold,  a  voice  from  the  sky  said: 

"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  of  whom  I  have  approved." 


58o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Chapter  iv.  i-ii 

I  Then  lesous  was  led  up  into  the  desert  by  the  Air,  to  be 
made  trial  of  by  the  Accuser.  2  And  when  he  had  fasted  forty 
days  and  forty  nights,  he  afterwards  was  hungry.  3  And  the 
Trier  came  and  said  to  him : 

"If  you  are  a  Son  of  God.  command  that  these  stones  become 
loaves  of  bread." 

4  But  he  answered  and  said  : 

"It  is  written,  'Man  shall  not  live  on  bread  alone,  but  on  every 
word  that  goes  out  through  the  mouth  of  God.'  " 

5  Then  the  Accuser  takes  him  into  the  sacred  city ;  and  he  set  him 
on  a  battlement  of  the  temple,    6  and  says  to  him  : 

"If  you  are  a  Son  of  God,  hurl  yourself  dow-n ;  for  it  is  written : 
"'He  shall  give  his  Divinities  charge  concerning  thee'; 
"and, 

"  'They  shall  lift  you  up  in  their  hands, 

Lest  ever  you  strike  your  foot  against  a  stone.'  " 

7  lesous  said  to  him : 
"Again  it  is  written : 

"  'Thou  shall  not  make  trial  of  thy  Master-God.' " 

8  Again  the  Accuser  takes  him  to  a  very  lofty  mountain,  and 
show^ed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them ; 
9  and  he  said  to  him : 

"I  will  confer  on  you  all  of  these  things,  if  you  will  fall  down  and 
worship  me." 

10  Then  says  lesous  to  him: 

"Begone,  Adversary!  For  it  is  written:  'Thy  Master-God  thou 
shall  zvorship,  and  him  alone  shalt  thou  serve.' " 

II  Then  the  Accuser  leaves  him;  and  behold.  Divinities 
came  and  served  up  [a  banquet]  to  him. 

COMMENTARY 

The  fine  hand  of  the  interpolator  who  inserted  the  reason  for  the 
fig-tree's  barrenness  is  here  discernible  in  the  added  words,  "and 
forty  nights" :  the  loose  statement  that  lesous  fasted  "forty  days" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         581 

might  have  left  room  for  the  suspicion  that  he  fasted  only  in  the 
daytime!  In  modern  times  a  fast  of  forty  days  is  not  regarded  as 
very  wonderful ;  and  longer  ones  are  recorded.  But  in  Mark  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  fast,  and  the  trials  imposed  by  the  Accuser 
are  not  particularized.  The  three  tests  described  in  Matthew  and 
Luke,  with  their  strained  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  are  of 
a  puerile  kind,  and  are  obviously  the  work  of  the  forgers :  lesous  re- 
fuses to  transmute  stones  into  bread  because  he  should  live  on  God's 
words  as  well  as  on  bread  (a  curious  bit  of  reasoning),  he  declines 
the  invitation  to  leap  from  the  battlements  of  the  temple,  and  he  can 
not  be  bribed  to  worship  the  Devil,  who  is  represented  to  be  the 
owner  of  all  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  The  "temptation"  to  hurl 
himself  from  the  battlements,  to  see  whether  or  not  the  Gods  would 
sustain  him  in  the  air,  would  not  appeal  to  any  sane  mind.  The 
forger  who  invented  this  absurd  test  evidently  conceived  the  notion 
when  reading  up  Jewish  matters  in  the  pages  of  Josephus,  who  says 
{Antiquities,  xv.  11.  5)  that  the  cloister  on  the  south  front  of  the 
temple  surmounted  a  deep  A^alley,  so  that  if  one  looked  down  from 
the  top  of  the  battlements  his  sight  could  not  reach  to  the  bottom  of 
the  immense  depth,  and  he  would  become  giddy.  Here,  as  in  a 
number  of  other  instances,  the  forgers  derived  their  "inspiration" 

from  Josephus. 

Ch.  IV.  12-25 

12  Now  when  [[lesous]]  heard  that  Idannes  had  been 
handed  over,  he  withdrew  into  Galilee;  13  and  forsaking 
Nazaret,  he  came  and  resided  in  Kapernaum,  which  is  a  sea- 
coast  [city],  on  the  borders  of  Zebulun  and  Naphtali,  14  that 
[the  prediction]  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah 
the  seer,  saying: 

15  "The  land  of  Zebulun  and  the  land  of  Naphtali 
[5y  the'\  zvay  of  the  sea,  beyond  the  Jordan, 
Galilee  of  the  Nations, 

16  The  people  who  were  dwelling  in  darkness 
Saw  a  great  light. 

And  to  those  zvho  were  divelling  in  Death's  domain  and  shadozv, 
To  them  [thel  light  has  spread:'' 


582  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

17  Henceforth  lesous  began  to  proclaim  [the  good  tidings] 
and  to  say: 

"Reform  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  has  drawn  near!" 

18  And  walking  beside  the  sea  of  Galilee,  he  saw  Simon  (the 
so-called  Petros)  and  Andreas,  his  brother,  casting  a  dragnet 
into  the  sea;  for  they  were  fishermen.  19  And  he  says  to 
them: 

''Come,  [follow]  after  me,  and  I  shall  make  you  fishers  of 
men." 

JO  And  they  immediately  left  their  nets  and  went  along  with 
him.  21  And  having  gone  on  from  there,  he  saw  two  other 
brothers,  lakobos,  the  [son]  of  Zebedaios,  and  loannes,  his 
brother,  in  the  ship  with  Zebedaios,  their  father,  mending  their 
nets;  and  he  called  them.  22  And  they  immediately  left  the 
ship  and  their  father,  and  went  along  with  him. 

23  And  [[lesous]]  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  proclaiming  the  good  tidings  of  the  kingdom,  and 
healing  all  diseases  and  all  bodily  weakness  among  the  people.  24 
And  the  report  about  him  went  out  into  all  Syria,  and  they  brought 
to  him  all  who  were  ill,  afflicted  with  various  diseases  and  torments, 
possessed  by  evil  spirits,  and  lunatics,  and  paralytics ;  and  he  healed 
them.  25  And  great  crowds  followed  him  from  Galilee,  Dekapolis, 
Jerusalem  and  Jud?ea,  and  [the  regions]  beyond  the  Jordan. 

COMMENTARY 

The  garbled  quotation  from  Isaiah  (ix.  i,  2)  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered a  "prophecy,"  since  it  is  written  in  the  past  tense,  referring 
to  events  that  had  taken  place  "in  the  former  time"  and  "in  the 
latter  time." 

Astronomically  Andreas  and  Simon,  the  regents  of  Aquarius  and 
Pisces,  in  the  region  of  the  Ocean-God,  are  appropriately  repre- 
sented as  fishermen ;  but  lakobos  and  loannes,  the  regents  of  Taurus 
and  Gemini,  in  the  region  of  the  Sky-God,  are  not  in  a  fishing-boat 
but  in  the  Ship  Argo.  The  next  disciple  to  be  called  is  loudas,  the 
regent  of  Aries,  who  is  found  "sitting,"  presumably  in  Cassiopeia's 
Chair,  a  northern  paranatellon  of  Aries.     But  the  forgers,  having 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         583 

converted  loudas  into  Matthias-Levi,  a  "publican"  sitting  at  "the 
place  of  toll,"  have  separated  the  call  of  the  fifth  disciple  from  that 
of  the  four  by  interpolating  irrelevant  matter ;  and  here  Matthezv 
inserts  the  so-called  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  is  composed,  for 
the  most  part,  of  passages  taken  from  the  discourses  of  loannes, 
and  of  odds  and  ends  of  other  discourses  for  which  the  compiler 
could  find  no  other  place. 

Chapter  v.  1-12 

I  And  seeing  the  crowds,  he  went  up  into  the  mountain ;  and 
when  he  had  sat  down,  his  disciples  came  to  him,  2  and  he 
opened  his  mouth  and  taught  them,  saying: 

3  "Beatified  are  the  supplicants  in  the  Air:  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  the  skies. 

4  "Beatified  are  the  mourners:  for  they  shall  be  inspirited. 

5  "Beatified  are  the  meek:  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

6  "Beatified  are  they  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  justice: 
for  they  shall  be  feasted. 

7  "Beatified  are  the  merciful:  for  they  shall  find  mercy. 

8  "Beatified  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they  shall  see  God. 

9  "Beatified  are  the  peacemakers:  for  they  shall  be  called 
Sons  of  God. 

10  "Beatified  are  they  who  have  been  persecuted  on  account  of 
[their]  moral  rectitude :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  the  skies. 

II  "Beatified  are  ye  when  [your  enemies]  shall  revile  you,  and 
persecute  you,  and  (being  liars)  shall  say  every  wicked  [[word]] 
against  you,  on  my  account.  12  Rejoice,  and  exult :  for  great  [shall 
be]  your  reward  in  the  skies ;  for  in  this  way  [the  exoteric  priests] 
persecuted  the  seers  who  [lived]  before  you. 

COMMENTARY 

There  appears  to  be  hardly  a  doubt  that  the  compiler  of  Mat- 
thew utilized,  in  the  construction  of  this  long  discourse,  a  collection 
of  "sayings"  (logia)  of  lesous,  which  are  here  strung  together 
without  any  general  plan.  Many  of  them  appear  elsewhere  in  the 
text  of  the  Sxnoptics,  in  connection  with  various  incidents ;  and  this 


584  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

results  in  many  curious  repetitions  in  Matthew.  This  patchwork 
construction  of  the  text  is  shown  l)y  the  fact  that  the  Synoptics  con- 
tain in  the  discourses  of  Icsous  about  forty  repeated  sayings  which 
are  given  in  different  "historical"  connections. 

The  rendering  "poor  in  spirit"  gives  the  first  beatitude  the  mean- 
ing that  the  Divine  Vision  is  conferred  upon  those  who  are  destitute 
of  spirit — that  is,  mean-spirited,  or  craven-spirited.  But  the  ptochoi 
(literally  "cringers")  are  "beggars,"  and  clearly  the  word  is  ap- 
plied here  to  those  who  make  their  petition  in  the  mighty  Air — the 
^ther. 

The  third  beatitude  would  more  nearly  express  the  truth  if  "pre- 
dacious" were  substituted  for  "meek." 

The  last  two  beatitudes,  which  dwell  on  the  blessedness  of  being 
persecuted  and  reviled,  are  written  in  a  different  tense  from  the 
others,  are  in  another  key,  and  are  obviously  untrue.  Whatever 
may  be  the  fiendish  joy  of  the  persecutor  in  inflicting  misery  upon 
his  victims,  it  is  cpiite  certain  that  being  persecuted  is  not  a  blissful 
experience,  and  it  can  not  be  regarded  as  bestowing  the  divine 
consciousness,  the  "kingdom  of  heaven." 

Ch.  v.  13-16 

13  "You  are  the  salt  of  the  earth ;  but  if  the  salt  becomes  insipid, 
with  what  shall  it  be  salted  ?  It  is  fit  for  nothing  any  more,  but  to 
be  thrown  outside  to  be  trampled  on  by  men.  14  You  are  the  light 
of  the  world.  A  city  situated  on  a  mountain  can  not  be  hid.  15 
Neither  do  they  light  a  lamp,  and  put  it  under  the  grain- 
measure,  but  on  the  lampstand;  and  it  shines  for  all  who  are 
in  the  house.  16  Thus  let  your  light  shine  before  men,  so  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  who 
is  in  the  skies. 

COMMENTARY 

Salt  is  a  more  stable  chemical  compound  than  the  forgers  imag- 
ined ;  but  even  if  it  were  subject  to  deterioration  by  losing  its  salt- 
ness,  the  abrupt  transition  from  the  beatitudes  to  sodium  chloride, 
and  from  that  to  a  city  on  a  mountain,  is  bewildering.  Luke  com- 
plicates the  subject  by  converting  the  salt  into  a  fertilizer. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         585 

Ch.  v.  17-26 

17  "Think  not  that  I  came  to  abolish  the  law  or  the  seers. 
I  came,  not  to  abolish,  but  to  complete  [them].  18  For,  amen, 
I  say  to  you,  Until  the  sky  and  the  earth  shall  pass  away,  not 
a  single  iota  or  a  single  accent  shall  pass  away  from  [the  text 
of]  the  law,  until  all  things  come  to  pass.  19  Therefore  who- 
ever shall  relax  one  of  these  very  little  commandments,  and 
teach  men  so,  shall  be  accounted  very  little  in  the  kingdom  of 
the  skies;  but  whoever  shall  practise  and  teach  them,  this  [dis- 
ciple] shall  be  accounted  great  in  the  kingdom  of  the  skies.  20 
For  I  say  to  you.  Unless  your  morality  is  not  more  unstinted 
than  [that]  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  you  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  at  all. 

21  "You  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  the  people  of  old, 
'Thou  shalt  not  commit  murder,  but  whoever  shall  commit  mur- 
der shall  be  hable  to  the  judgment' ;  22  but  I  say  to  you,  Every 
one  who  is  angry  with  his  brother  [[rashly]]  shall  be  liable  to 
the  judgment;  and  whoever  shall  say  to  his  brother,  'Raka,' 
shall  be  Hable  to  the  council ;  and  whoever  shall  say,  'You  fool,' 
shall  be  liable  to  the  Hinnom-valley  of  fire.  23  If  therefore  you 
are  offering  your  oblation  at  the  altar,  and  there  remember  that  your 
brother  has  something  against  you,  24  leave  there  your  oblation 
before  the  altar,  and  go  away;  first  be  reconciled  to  your  brother, 
and  then  come  and  offer  your  oblation.  25  Be  kindly  disposed 
towards  the  party  opposed  to  you  quickly,  until  you  are  on  the 
[right]  way  with  him,  lest  the  opponent  hand  you  over  to  the  judge, 
and  the  judge  [  [hand  you  over]  ]  to  the  ofhcer,  and  you  are  thrown 
into  prison.  26  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  You  shall  not  at  all  come  out 
from  thence  until  you  pay  the  last  copper. 

COMMENTARY 

The  exaggerated  statement  about  the  integrity  of  the  text  of  the 
Jewish  moral  code  is  a  curiosity  in  a  "Gospel"  which  contains  for- 
geries on  every  page.  Crude  as  that  code  is,  it  was  probably  well 
adapted  to  the  primitive  people  for  whom  it  was  enacted ;  but  some 


586  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  the  more  stringent  rules  of  morality  in  this  discourse  apply  only 
to  religious  ascetics,  and  are  quite  impracticable  for  the  masses. 
Laws  against  the  crimes  mentioned  in  the  text  were,  of  course,  com- 
mon to  all  civilized  and  semi-civilized  nations.  The  higher  code,  laid 
down  for  all  candidates  for  initiation  into  the  Mysteries,  or  esoteric 
religion,  is  here  indiscriminately  imposed  on  the  rabble ;  and  the 
priest- forgers  have  tacked  on  some  of  their  own  peculiar  notions 
on  the  subject  of  ethics. 

Ch.  v.  27-32 

27  "You  have  heard  that  it  was  said  [[to  the  people  of  old]], 
'Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery' ;  28  but  I  say  to  you,  Every 
one  who  looks  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  has  committed 
adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart.  29  But  if  your  right 
eye  is  an  impediment  to  you,  gouge  it  out,  and  throw  it  a^^•ay  from 
you :  for  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  one  of  your  members  should 
perish,  and  not  your  whole  body  be  thrown  into  the  Hinnom-valley. 
30  And  if  your  right  hand  is  an  impediment  to  you,  amputate  it, 
and  throw  it  away  from  you :  for  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  one 
of  your  members  should  perish,  and  not  your  whole  body  depart 
into  Hinnom-valley.  3 1  It  was  said  also,  'Whoever  divorces  his  wife, 
let  him  give  her  a  deed  of  divorce' ;  32  but  I  say  to  you,  Whoever 
divorces  his  wife,  except  on  account  of  fornication,  causes  her  to 
commit  adultery,  [  [and  whoever  marries  a  divorced  woman  com- 
mits adultery]]. 

COMMENTARY 

Fortunately  for  "professing  Christians,"  their  faith  is  not  robust 
enough  for  them  to  accept,  other  than  theoretically,  some  of  the 
morbid  doctrines  written  into  the  Gospels  by  monkish  fanatics ;  for 
if  the  doctrine  inculcated  here  should  be  conscientiously  followed 
a  large  proportion  of  the  orthodox  Christians  would  be  one-eyed 
and  one-armed.  The  passage  about  gouging  out  the  offending  eye 
and  amputating  the  offending  arm  is  literally  translated,  and  even 
the  able  translators  of  the  "authorized"  version  have  failed  to  soften 
its  uncompromising  brutality  or  mask  its  imbecility.  It  is  no  syllep- 
tical  figure  of  speech,  no  poetic  hyperbole,  but  a  solemn  injunction 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         587 

winding  np  with  a  significant  allusion  to  that  ''Hinnom-valley"  (gey 
hinnom)  which  even  the  revisers  construe  as  plain  "hell,"  though 
with  a  cautious  foot-note  to  inform  the  reader  that  it  is  Gehenna  in 
the  text.  But  the  orthodox  have  sensibly  taken  their  chances  on 
Hinnom-valley.  whatever  it  may  be,  rather  than  sacrifice  their  re- 
bellious corporeal  members.  In  the  matter  of  reasonable  laws  of 
di\-orce,  however,  the  progress  of  civilization  has  been  impeded  by 
the  bigoted  priesthood.  The  true  rule  of  morality  stated  in  the  text 
prohibits  unbridled  lust  within  the  marriage  relation  as  well  as 
outside  of  it ;  and  marriage  may  be,  and  often  is.  a  cover  for  im- 
morality as  gross  as  adultery,  and  a  thousand  times  more  to  be 
deplored  than  divorce. 

Ch.  v.  33-48 

2)T^  "Again,  you  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  the  people  of  old, 
'Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  hut  thou  shalt  discharge  to  the 
Master  thine  oaths';  34  but  I  say  to  you.  Do  not  swear  at  all ; 
neither  by  'the  sky/  for  'it  is  God's  throne';  35  nor  by  'the  earth/ 
for  'it  is  a  footstool  for  his  feet';  nor  in  [the  temple]  of  Jerusalem, 
for  it  is  'the  city  of  the  great  King/  36  Neither  shall  you  swear 
by  your  head,  for  you  can  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  ;^y  Let 
your  style  of  speaking  be,  'Yes,  yes.  No,  no';  and  whatever  is  in 
excess  of  these  is  wicked. 

38  "You  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  *An  eye  for  an  eye,  and 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth';  39  but  I  say  to  you,  Do  not  resist  the 
wicked  [assailant] ;  but  whoever  strikes  you  on  the  right  cheek, 
turn  to  him  the  other  also.  40  And  to  him  wdio  is  disposed  to 
bring  an  action  at  law  against  you  and  take  your  tunic,  give 
up  to  him  your  cloak  also.  41  And  whoever  shall  press  you 
into  service  to  go  one  mile,  go  with  him  two.  42  Give  to  him 
who  begs  of  you ;  and  turn  not  away  from  him  who  wishes  to 
borrow  from  you. 

43  "You  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  'Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy';  44  but  I  say  to  you,  Love 
your  enemies,  [[bless  those  w^ho  curse  you,  treat  nobly  those 
who  hate  you,]]  and  pray  for  those  who  [[insult  you  and]]  perse- 


588  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

cute  you;  45  that  you  may  become  sons  of  your  Father  who  is  in 
the  skies ;  for  "he  causes  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  bad  and  the  good, 
and  sends  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust.  46  For  if  you  love 
those  who  love  you,  what  reward  do  you  have?  Do  not  even  the 
tax-collectors  do  that  very  thing?  47  And  if  you  affectionately 
greet  your  brothers  only,  what  are  you  doing  that  is  extraordinary? 
Do  not  even  the  heathens  do  that  very  thing?  48  You  shall  be 
perfect,  therefore,  even  as  your  Father  celestial  is  perfect. 

COMMENTARY 

The  prohibition  of  oaths  is  sensible;  but  the  theological  argu- 
ments on  the  subject,  despite  the  quotations  from  the  Jewish  scrip- 
tures, are  incurably  lame.  To  say  that  the  sky,  the  earth  and  Jeru- 
salem belong  to  God  gives  no  reason  wh}^  a  man  should  not  swear  by 
them;  nor  does  it  follow  that  because  he  is  unable  to  change  the 
color  of  his  hair  he  should  not  swear  by  his  head.  The  doctrines  of 
non-resistance  to  enemies,  and  of  universal  love,  represent  true  ethi- 
cal principles ;  but  the  dilating  comments,  which  are  written  in  the 
crudest  vernacular,  merely  detract  from  their  force. 

Chapter  vi.  1-15 

I  "Take  heed  not  to  practise  your  morality  before  men  in  order 
that  it  may  be  seen  by  them ;  otherw'ise  you  have  no  reward  with 
your  Father  who  is  in  the  skies.  2  When,  therefore,  you  do  a  deed 
of  charity,  do  not  blow  a  trumpet  before  you,  as  the  hypocrites  do 
in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  glorified  by 
men.  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  They  are  having  their  full  reward.  3 
But  when  you  are  doing  a  charitable  deed,  do  not  let  your  left  hand 
know  what  your  right  hand  is  doing,  4  so  that  your  charity  may 
be  in  secret ;  and  your  Father  who  sees  in  secret  shall  recompense 
you  [[openly]]. 

5  "And  when  you  pray,  you  shall  not  be  like  the  hypocrites;  for 
they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  street- 
corners,  so  that  they  may  be  conspicuous  to  men.  Amen,  I  say  to 
you,  They  are  having  their  full  reward.  6  But  do  you,  when  you 
pray,  'enter  into  yonr  treasure-vault,  and  having  shut  your  door, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         589 

pray'  to  your  Father  who  is  in  secret,  and  your  Father  who  sees  in 
secret  shall  recompense  you  [[openly]].  7  But  when  praying,  do 
not  babble  like  the  barbarians,  for  they  conceit  that  by  wordiness 
they  will  be  understood.  8  Therefore  do  not  become  like  them ;  for 
[[God]]  your  Father  knows  the  things  which  you  need,  before  you 
ask  him.    9  Thus,  then,  do  you  pray: 

Thou  in  the  skies,  our  Father! 
Consecrated  be  thy  name; 

10  Established  be  thy  realm; 
Accomplished  be  thy  will — 

As  in  the  sky,  also  on  the  earth. 

1 1  Our  bread  for  the  morrow  destined 

This  day  bestow  upon  us. 

12  And  forgive  us  our  debts, 

As  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors ; 

13  And  carry  us  not  into  temptation; 

But  shield  us  from  the  Evil  [Genius]. 
[  [For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory, 

throughout  the  aeons.    Amen.]] 
14  For  if  you  forgive  men  their  misdeeds,  your  celestial  Father  will 
also  forgive  you.     15  But  if  you  do  not  forgive  men  their  misdeeds, 
neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your  misdeeds. 

COMMENTARY 

Elsewhere  in  the  discourse  (v.  16)  it  is  said  that  good  w^orks 
should  be  done  publicly,  so  that  men  seeing  them  might  glorify  God ; 
but  here  the  Pharisees  are  denounced  for  doing  that  very  thing, 
because  to  them  and  not  to  God  men  gave  the  glory.  Also  the 
vicious  doctrine  of  rewards  is  inculcated.  A  good  deed  done  in 
expectation  of  a  reward  is  good  only  in  outer  seeming,  and  not  in 
the  motive.  Yet  even  prayer,  according  to  the  forgers,  may  be  vir- 
tuously inspired  by  selfish  motives. 

The  first  seven  lines  of  the  prayer  are  superb ;  but  the  remaining 
four  are  in  every  w^ay  inferior.  Two  of  these  last  lines  begin  limp- 
ingly  with  "and,"  while  all  four  are  longer,  in  the  Greek,  and  lack 
the  sonorous  and  impressive  qualities  of  the  preceding  lines.     The 


590  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

word  used  for  "will"  (tJiclcma)  and  "temptation"  ( peirasmos )  are 
ecclesiastical  Greek;  and  epiousion,  here  translated  "for  the  mor- 
row," is  a  coined  word  of  somewhat  uncertain  meaning.  The  doxo- 
logical  ending  is  unquestionably  a  later  addition ;  but  it  is  not  an 
objectionable  one.  The  loose  assertion  that  the  prayer  was  taken 
from  the  Talmud  is  baseless  :  when  carefully  compared  with  the  Tal- 
mudic  prayers,  it  is  found  to  be  non-Jewish  in  style. 

Ch.  VI.  16-34 

16  "And  whenever  you  may  be  fasting,  do  not  become  like  the 
sour-visaged  hypocrites;  for  they  make  their  faces  unsightly,  that 
they  may  strike  the  sight  of  men  as  those  who  are  fasting.  Amen, 
I  say  to  you,  They  are  having  their  full  reward.  17  But  do  you, 
when  you  fast,  anoint  your  head,  and  wash  your  face,  18  that  you 
may  not  strike  the  sight  of  men  as  one  who  is  fasting,  but  of  your 
Father,  who  is  in  secret ;  and  your  Father,  who  sees  in  secret,  will 
recompense  you  [[openly]]. 

19  "Do  not  amass  for  yourselves  treasures  on  the  earth, 
where  moth  and  rust  consume,  and  thieves  dig  through  and 
steal ;  20  but  amass  for  yourselves  treasures  in  the  sky,  where 
neither  moth  nor  rust  consumes,  and  where  thieves  do  not  dig 
through  and  steal:  21  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will 
be  your  heart  also.  22  The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye :  there- 
fore, if  your  eye  is  single,  your  whole  body  will  be  illuminated ; 
23  but  if  your  eye  is  unsound,  your  whole  body  will  be  dark. 
If,  then,  the  light  which  is  in  you  is  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness!  24  No  one  can  serve  two  masters:  for  either  he  will 
dislike  the  one  and  respect  the  other,  or  he  will  cleave  to  the 
one  and  look  down  upon  the  other.  You  can  not  serve  God 
and  Mamon.  25  For  this  reason  I  say  to  you,  Do  not  con- 
centrate your  mind  on  the  psychic  self,  what  you  should  eat, 
[[or  what  you  should  drink]]  ;  nor  on  your  body,  what  you 
should  put  on.  Is  not  the  psychic  self  more  than  the  food,  and 
the  body  than  the  raiment?  26  Consider  the  birds  of  the  sky, 
that  they  do  not  reap,  nor  do  they  gather  into  granaries ;  and 
your  Father  celestial  feeds  them.    Are  you  not  of  much  greater 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         591 

value  than  they  ?  27  And  which  of  you  is  able  by  mental  con- 
centration to  add  one  cubit  to  his  stature  ?  28  And  why  do  you 
concentrate  the  mind  on  raiment?  29  Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,  how  they  grow ;  they  do  not  toil,  nor  do  they  spin :  but  I 
say  to  you,  Not  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  clothed  like 
one  of  these.  30  But  if  God  thus  arrays  the  herbage  of  the 
field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  thrown  into  the  oven, 
[shall  he]  not  much  rather  [array]  you,  ye  scant-faiths?  31 
Therefore  do  not  be  concerned,  saying,  'What  shall  we  eat?' 
or,  'What  shall  we  drink?'  or,  'With  what  shall  we  be  clothed?' 
32  For  the  heathens  keep  asking  for  all  these  things ;  for  your 
celestial  Father  knows  that  you  have  need  of  all  these  things. 
2^  But  seek  first  the  kingdom  [[of  God]],  and  his  justice;  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  to  you.  34  Therefore  do  not  be 
concerned  about  the  morrow ;  for  the  morrow  will  be  concerned 
about  itself.     Sufficient  for  the  day  is  its  [ow^n]   trouble. 

COMMENTARY 

Between  the  hypocrite  who  fasts  ostentatiously  and  the  man  who 
pretends  not  to  be  fasting  in  order  to  be  rewarded,  whether 
"openly"  or  not,  the  margin  of  merit  is  small,  even  if  it  is  conceded 
that  there  is  anything  meritorious  in  fasting.  The  ethical  teachings 
interpolated  by  the  forgers  are  usually  objectionable. 

The  verb  which  in  the  spurious  passage,  verse  34,  has  the  signifi- 
cation of  "being  anxious,"  or  "concerned,"  has  in  the  genuine  pas- 
sage the  sense  of  "taking  thought,"  or  ''concentrating  the  mind." 
Similar  differences  in  the  shades  of  meaning  in  words  are  often 
noticeable  in  the  text,  the  genuine  sections  containing  the  technical, 
and  the  interpolations  the  colloquial,  meanings. 

Chapter  vii.  1-29 

I  "Judge  not,  that  you  may  not  be  judged.  2  For  wnth  the 
judgment  you  pronounce,  you  shall  be  judged ;  and  with  the 
rule  you  measure  by,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you.  3  But  why 
do  you  look  at  the  dust-particle  which  is  in  your  brother's  eye, 


592  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

but  do  not  discern  the  beam  which  is  in  your  [own]  eye?  4 
Or  how  will  you  say  to  your  brother,  'Permit  [that]  I  cast  out 
the  dust-particle  from  your  eye';  and  behold,  the  beam  [is]  in 
your  [own]  eye?  5  Hypocrite!  cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of 
your  [own]  eye;  and  then  you  will  see  steadily  to  cast  out  the 
dust-particle  out  of  your  brother's  eye. 

6  "Do  not  give  the  inner  temple  to  the  dogs,  neither  throw 
your  pearls  before  the  swine,  lest  they  should  trample  on  them 
with  their  feet,  and  turn  and  lacerate  you. 

7  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  to  you;  seek,  and  you  shall 
find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you:  8  for  every  one 
who  keeps  asking  receives,  and  who  keeps  seeking  finds,  and 
to  [every  one]  who  keeps  knocking  it  shall  be  opened.  9  Or 
what  man  is  there  from  among  you,  who,  if  his  son  shall  ask 
him  for  a  loaf  of  bread,  will  give  him  a  stone ;  10  or  if  he  shall 
ask  him  for  a  fish,  will  give  him  a  snake?  11  If,  therefore,  you 
who  are  luckless  wights,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  who  is  in  the  skies 
give  good  gifts  to  those  w^ho  ask  him?  12  Therefore  all  things 
whatsoever  that  you  wish  that  men  should  do  to  you,  so  also 
do  ye  to  them;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

13  "Enter  in  through  the  narrow  gate;  for  broad  [[is  the 
gate]]  and  spacious  is  the  road  that  leads  to  ruin,  and  many 
are  they  who  enter  in  through  it.  14  For  narrow  is  the  gate 
and  straitened  the  road  that  leads  to  life,  and  few  are  they 
who  find  it. 

15  "Be  on  your  guard  against  the  pseudo-seers,  who  come 
to  you  in  outer  garb  of  sheep,  but  inwardly  are  rapacious 
wolves.  16  You  shall  detect  them  by  their  fruits.  Do  [men] 
gather  grape-clusters  from  thorn-bushes,  or  figs  from  thistles? 
17  Thus  every  good  tree  bears  good  fruit;  but  the  bad  tree 
bears  worthless  fruit.  18  A  good  tree  can  not  bear  worthless 
fruit,  neither  can  a  bad  tree  bear  good  fruit.  19  Every  tree 
that  does  not  bear  good  fruit  is  cut  down  and  thrown  into  the 
fire.     20  So,  then,  you  shall  detect  them  by  their  fruits. 

21  "Not  every  one  who  says  to  me,  'Master,  Master,'  shall 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         593 

enter  into  the  kingdom  of  the  skies;  but  he  [shall  enter]  who 
does  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies.  22  On  that  day 
many  will  say  to  me,  'Master,  Master,  [[did  we  not  eat  and 
drink  in  your  name,]]  "did  we  not  prognosticate  by  your 
name,"  and  by  your  name  cast  out  ghosts,  and  by  your  name 
practise  many  magic  arts?'  2^^  And  then  I  shall  admit  to 
them,  I  have  never  acknowledged  you ;  depart  from  me,  'doers 
of  that  which  is  lawless.' 

24  "Every  one,  therefore,  who  hears  [[these]]  my  arcane 
doctrines,  and  observes  them,  shall  be  likened  to  a  prudent 
man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  rock;  25  and  the  rain 
came  down,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat 
against  that  house;  but  it  did  not  fall,  for  its  foundation  had 
been  laid  upon  the  rock.  26  And  every  one  who  hears  these 
arcane  doctrines  of  mine,  and  does  not  observe  them,  shall  be 
likened  to  a  foolish  man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand; 
2"]  and  the  rain  came  down,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  dashed  against  that  house,  and  it  fell — and  great 
was  its  fall." 

28  And  it  came  about,  when  lesous  had  finished  these  sayings, 
that  the  crowds  were  astonished  at  his  teaching;  29  for  he  was 
teaching  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes. 

COMMENTARY 

Considered  as  an  actual  "sermon,"  this  long  address  is  open  to  the 
same  criticism  that  was  made  by  the  rustic  who  undertook  the 
perusal  of  a  dictionary:  it  is  interesting,  but  it  changes  the  subject 
too  often.  It  was  delivered,  according  to  Matthezu,  at  a  time  when 
only  four  disciples  had  been  chosen ;  and  how  it  came  to  be  reduced 
to  writing  is  unexplained.  It  is  a  fair  inference  that  lesous  is  repre- 
sented as  speaking  extemporaneously ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  a 
verbatim  report  of  his  discourse  could  have  been  made,  since  it  is 
improbable  that  any  of  his  hearers  were  shorthand  reporters,  and 
only  from  memory  could  it  have  been  reduced  to  writing.  A  system 
of  shorthand  was  employed  by  the  Romans,  and  the  art  was  not  lost 
until  the  third  century,  at  which  time  most  of  the  arts  and  sciences 


594  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  anliquity  were  being-  wiped  out  in  the  triumphant  progress  of 
Christianity.  The  "sermon"  is  hke  a  handful  of  gems  removed 
from  their  settings,  with  a  few  base  imitations  thrown  in.  Of  the 
latter,  the  saying  about  "judging"  contains  faulty  reasoning,  and 
the  one  about  the  "beam,"  a  heavy  squared  timber,  in  a  man's  eye 
is  rather  grotesque.- 

Chapter  viii.  1-13 

I  And  when  he  had  come  down  from  the  mountain,  great  crowds 
followed  him.  2  And  behold,  a  leper  came  and  did  homage  to  him, 
saying : 

"A'laster,  if  you  are  willing,  you  can  purify  me." 

3  And  he  stretched  out  his  hand,  and  touched  him,  saying: 

"I  am  willing;  be  purified." 

And  immediately  his  leprosy  was  cleansed.  4  And  lesous  says 
to  him : 

"See  that  you  say  [nothing]  to  any  one ;  but  go  show  yourself 
to  the  priest,  and  offer  the  sacrifice  which  Moses  commanded,  for 
evidence  to  them." 

5  And  when  he  had  entered  into  Kapernaum,  a  centurion  came 
to  him,  imploring  him,    6  and  saying : 

"Master,  my  slave  is  prostrated  in  the  house,  paralyzed,  dread- 
fully tormented." 

7  And  he  says  to  him : 

"I  shall  come  and  heal  him." 

8  And  the  centurion  answered  and  said : 

"Master,  I  am  not  fit  that  you  should  come  under  my  roof ;  but 
only  speak  the  word  [of  command],  and  my  slave  will  be  healed. 
9  For  I  also  am  a  man  [  [set]  ]  under  authority,  having  under  my- 
self soldiers :  and  I  say  to  this  one,  'Go,'  and  he  goes  ;  and  to  another, 
'Come,'  and  he  comes;  and  to  my  slave,  'Do  this,'  and  he  does  it." 

10  And  having  heard  [him],  lesous  wondered,  and  said  to  those 
who  were  following  him : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  With  no  one  in  Israel  have  I  found  so  great 
faith !  1 1  But  I  say  to  you.  Many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the 
west,  and  shall  recline  [at  table]  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  in 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         595 

the  kingdom  of  the  skies;  12  but  the  sons  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
hurled  out  into  the  outer  darkness :  in  that  place  there  shall  be  weep- 
ing and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

13  And  to  the  centurion  lesous  said: 

"Go;  and  it  shall  happen  to  you  as  you  haye  belieyed." 
And  the  slave  was  cured  in  that  hour. 

COMMENTARY 

In  reproducing  the  text  of  Mark  the  compiler  usually  copies  the 
errors  of  the  former,  as  in  yerse  4,  where  "them"  refers  to  the 
"priest,"  following  Mark  i.  44. 

Here  lesous  is  represented  as  exerting  his  healing  power  at  a 
distance;  but  the  cure  is  no  more  remarkable  than  others  performed 
when  the  patients  were  present.  It  has  been  demonstrated  repeat- 
edly by  mesmeric  healers  that  cures  may  be  wrought  upon  absent 
patients.  But  in  this  story  "faith,"  as  usual  in  the  spurious  por- 
tions of  the  text,  is  made  an  important  element,  and  it  is  the  faith, 
not  of  the  palsied  slaye,  but  of  his  master,  a  Roman;  and  because 
the  faith  of  the  "heathen"  surpassed  that  of  the  "sons  of  the  king- 
dom"— the  Jews — lesous  makes  the  prediction  that  many  of  the 
heathen  will  banquet  in  the  regions  celestial  while  the  "sons"  are 
gnashing  their  teeth  in  the  regions  infernal.  This  yindictlve  de- 
nunciation was  probably  inserted  to  account  partially  for  the  fact 
that  the  early  Christian  church  was  composed  wholly  of  Greeks  and 
Romans,  without  a  Jew  among  them.  For,  despite  the  claim  that 
lesous  appeared  among  the  Jews  and  started  the  new  religion,  it  is 
historically  certain  that  Christianity  originated  in  and  was  at  first 
confined  to  Greece.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  Jew  in  those  days  had 
ever  heard  of  lesous,  or  had  subsequently  any  opportunity  to  be- 
lieve in  him,  except  as  the  hero  of  a  work  of  fiction  penned  by  men 
who  never  saw  Palestine. 

Cn.  VIII.  14-17 

14  And  when  lesous  had  come  to  the  house  of  Petros,  he 
saw  his  mother-in-law  prostrated  and  feverish.      15  And  he 


596  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

touched  her  hand,  and  the  fever  left  her,  and  she  arose  and 
served  up  [a  dinner]  to  him. 

1 6  And  when  evening  came,  they  brought  to  him  many  pos- 
sessed with  ghosts;  and  he  cast  out  the  spirits  with  a  word, 
and  cured  all  who  were  ill,  17  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  through  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying: 

"Himself  took  our  infirmities,  and  bore  our  diseases." 

COMMENTARY 

If  lesous  healed  diseases  by  taking  them  from  all  his  patients 
and  enduring  them  himself,  in  order  to  fulfil  the  ''prophecy"  of 
Isaiah,  the  crucifixion  was  not  the  worst  of  his  eufferings.  The 
forgers  were  as  ignorant  of  the  methods  of  healing  as  they  were 
of  the  causes  of  disease.  Theologians  may  understand  this  prophecy 
and  its  fulfilment  in  a  mystical  sense — for,  in  theology,  anything 
will  do  for  an  explanation,  even  as  anything  from  the  Hebrew 
scriptures  could  be  turned  into  a  prophecy  by  the  forgers.  Verse 
16  is  a  garbled  copy  of  Mark  i.  32;  but  the  allegory  concerning  the 
action  of  the  forces  at  sunrise  and  sunset  has  been  stricken  out  and 
the  "prophecy"  substituted  for  it.  According  to  Mark  i.  34,  lesous 
healed  "many" ;  this  is  fraudulently  changed  in  Matthezv  to  "all," 
and  in  Luke  (iv.  4)  to  "every  one." 

Ch.  VIII.  18-34 

18  Now  when  lesous  saw  great  crowds  around  him,  he  com- 
manded [his  disciples]  to  depart  to  the  other  side.  19  And 
a  lone  scribe  came  and  said  to  him: 

"Teacher,  I  shall  follow  you  to  whatever  place  you  may  be 
going." 

20  And  lesous  says  to  him: 

"The  foxes  have  dens,  and  the  birds  of  the  sky  [have]  roosts; 
but  the  Son  of  man  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head." 

21  And  another  of  his  disciples  said  to  him: 
"Master,  allow  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father." 

22  But  lesous  says  to  him: 

"Follow  me,  and  leave  'the  dead'  to  bury  their  own  dead." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         597 

23  And  when  he  had  entered  into  the  ship,  his  disciples  fol- 
lowed him.  24  And  behold,  a  great  tempest  arose  in  the  sea, 
so  that  the  ship  was  covered  by  the  waves ;  but  he  was  sleeping. 
25  And  they  came  to  him  and  awoke  him,  saying: 

"Master,  save  [[us]];  we  are  perishing!" 

26  And  he  says  to  them : 

"Why  are  you  cowardly,  ye  scant-faiths?" 

Then  he  arose  and  reprimanded  the  winds  and  the  sea;  and 
there  befell  a  great  calm.     27  And  the  men  wondered,  saying: 

"What  sort  of  [man]  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea 
obey  him?" 

28  And  when  he  had  come  to  the  other  side,  to  the  country 
of  the  Gadarenes,  two  [men]  possessed  by  ghosts  met  him, 
coming  from  the  tombs,  very  ferocious,  so  that  no  one  was 
able  to  pass  by  that  way.  29  And  behold,  they  shouted, 
saying : 

"What  matters  it  to  us  and  to  you,  [[lesous]].  Son  of  God? 
Have  you  come  here  to  torment  us  before  the  season?" 

30  Now  there  was,  at  a  distance  from  them,  a  herd  of  many 
swine  feeding.     31  And  the  ghosts  implored  him,  saying: 

"If  you  cast  us  out,  send  us  into  the  herd  of  swine." 

32  And  he  said  to  them: 

"Go !" 

And  they  came  out  and  went  into  the  [  [herd  of]  ]  swine ;  and, 
behold,  the  whole  herd  [[of  swine]]  rushed  down  the  precipi- 
tous slope  into  the  sea,  and  died  in  the  waters.  ^^  And  the 
herdsmen  of  them  fled,  and  went  away  into  the  city,  and  told 
everything,  and  the  [happenings]  to  the  ghost-possessed 
[men] .  34  And  behold,  all  the  city  went  out  to  meet  lesous ; 
and  they  saw  him,  and  implored  him  to  depart  from  their 
borders. 

COMMENTARY 

Possibly  the  compiler  of  Matthczv  on  some  occasions  saw  double : 
here  he  introduces  two  demoniacs  where  the  other  Synoptics  men- 
tion but  one;  in  ix.  27-31  he  turns  the  blind  son  of  Timaios  into 
twins;  and  finally  he  gives  lesous  a  double  mount  (xxi.  7)  when 


598  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

riding  into  Jerusalem.  The  story  of  the  ghosts  and  the  swine  is 
given  by  Matthew  but  half  the  space  devoted  to  it  in  Mark  and 
Luke;  and  it  may  be  that  in  ix.  27-31  he  abridged  two  stories  of 
healing  a  blind  man  by  combining  them  and  having  the  two  men 
healed  together,  and,  being  gratified  at  the  result,  concluded  that  by 
reversing  the  process  and  making  two  out  of  one  he  could  increase 
the  dramatic  effect  in  other  incidents  of  the  narrative.  Perceiving 
the  absurdity  of  having  the  swine  "choked"  in  the  sea,  he  has 
emended  that  by  having  them  die  in  the  waters. 

Chapter  ix.   1-8 

I  And  he  embarked  in  the  ship,  and  passed  over,  and  came 
to  his  native  city.  2  And  behold,  they  brought  to  him  a  para- 
lytic, lying  on  a  couch.  And  lesous,  seeing  their  faith,  said  to 
the  paralytic: 

"Cheer  up,  child!     Your  sins  are  remitted." 

3  And  behold,  some  of  the  scribes  said  within  themselves: 
"This  [fellow]  is  blaspheming," 

4  And  lesous,  perceiving  their  cogitations,  said: 

"Why  are  you  meditating  wicked  things  in  your  hearts?  5 
For  which  is  easier,  to  say,  'Your  sins  are  remitted,'  or  to  say, 
'Arise  and  walk'?  6  But  that  you  may  know  that  the  Son  of 
man  has  authority  on  earth  to  remit  sins,"  (then  he  says  to  the 
paralytic,)  "Arise,  and  take  up  your  couch,  and  go  to  your 
house." 

7  And  he  arose,  and  went  away  to  his  house.  8  And  when 
the  crowds  saw  it,  they  were  terrified,  and  glorified  God,  who 
had  given  such  authority  to  men. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  again  Matthezv  carries  out  his  policy  of  condensing  portions 
of  the  narrative,  securing  brevity  at  the  expense  of  ruining  the 
allegory.  The  essential  details  that  the  paralytic  was  borne  by  four, 
and  lowered  through  an  opening  in  the  roof,  are  omitted,  and  the 
undermeaning  is  thereby  obliterated.  Otherwise  the  three  Synoptics 
are  in  accord,  except  as  to  their  doxological  endings.     The  forgers 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         599 

must  have  been  somewhat  proud  of  their  abihty  to  write  neat  Httle 
doxologies,  and  they  never  fail  to  insert  them  in  suitable  — and  often 
even  in  unsuitable— places,  to  inform  the  reader  of  the  terror, 
amazement  and  other  emotions  inspired  by  the  therapeutic  and 
thaumaturgic  feats  of  lesous.  They  seemed  always  to  fear  that  the 
incident  itself  might  not  speak  loudly  enough. 

The  city  where  this  miracle  was  performed  was,  according  to 
Mark,  Kapernaum;  here  it  is  termed  the  "native  city"  of  lesous. 
As  he  was  called  "lesous  of  Nazareth,"  it  is  claimed  that  he  had 
two  native  cities.  But  there  is  no  historical  evidence  that  either 
of  them  ever  existed. 

Ch.  IX.  9-26 

9  And  lesous,  passing  on  thence,  saw  a  man  called  Mat- 
thias sitting  at  the  custom-house ;  and  he  says  to  him: 

"Come  along  after  me." 

And  he  arose  and  went  along  after  him,  10  And  it  befell 
that  while  he  was  reclining  [at  table]  at  the  house  [of  Mat- 
thias], behold,  many  tax-collectors  and  immoral  men,  who  had 
come,  were  reclining  [at  table]  with  lesous  and  his  disciples. 
II  And  when  the  Pharisees  saw  it,  they  said  to  his  disciples: 

"Why  does  your  Teacher  eat  [[and  drink]]  with  tax-collec- 
tors and  immoral  men?" 

12  But  when   [[lesous]]   heard  it,  he  said   [[to  them]]: 

"Those  who  are  in  health  have  no  need  of  a  physician,  but 
those  who  are  ill.  13  But  go  and  learn  what  is  [the  meaning 
of  this  scripture],  7  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice.'  For  I  have 
not  come  to  call  the  virtuous,  but  the  immoral  [[to  reform]]." 

14  Then  come  to  him  the  disciples  of  loannes,  saying: 
"Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  [[much]],  but  your  dis- 
ciples do  not  fast?" 

15  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"Can  the  sons  of  the  bridechamber  mourn  while  the  bride- 
groom is  with  them?  But  the  days  will  come  when  the  bride- 
groom will  be  taken  away  from  them,  and  then  they  will  fast. 
16  No  one  puts  a  piece  of  uncarded  cloth  on  an  old  garment; 


6oo  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT  , 

for  the  patch  made  of  it  tears  away  from  the  garment,  and  a 
worse  rent  happens.  17  Neither  do  [men]  put  fresh  wine  into 
old  wineskins,  else  the  wineskins  burst,  and  the  wine  is  spilled, 
and  the  skins  are  destroyed;  but  they  put  fresh  wine  into  new 
wineskins,  and  both  are  preserved." 

18  As  he  was  speaking  these  things  to  them,  behold,  a 
[[lone]]  ruler  came  and  did  obeisance  to  him,  saying: 

"My  daughter  has  just  now  died;  but  do  you  come  and  lay 
your  hand  on  her,  and  she  will  be  restored  to  life." 

19  And  lesous  arose  and  followed  him,  and  [so  did]  his  dis- 
ciples. 20  And  behold,  a  woman  who  had  an  issue  of  blood 
for  twelve  years  drew  near  from  behind  and  touched  the  hem 
of  his  garment;     21  for  she  kept  saying  within  herself: 

"I  shall  be  saved  if  only  I  touch  his  mantle." 
22  But  lesous,  turning  and  seeing  her,  said: 
''Cheer  up,  daughter;  your  faith  has  saved  you." 
And  from  that  hour  the  woman  was  saved.     2}^  And  when 
lesous  came  to  the  ruler's  house,  and  saw  the  flute-players,  and 
the  crowd  making  a  commotion,     24  he  said: 

"Make  way!    For  the  little  girl  is  not  dead,  but  is  sleeping." 

And  they  laughed  at  him  scornfully.    25  But  when  the  crowd 

had  been  put  out,  he  entered  in,  and  grasped  her  hand ;  and  the 

little  girl  arose.     26  And  this  rumor  went  out  in  all  that  land. 

COMMENTARY 

The  process  of  abridging  the  narrative  by  cutting  out  some  of  its 
vital  points  is  adhered  to  by  Matthew  in  this  version  of  the  story 
of  the  ruler's  twelve-year-old  daughter  and  the  woman  with  the 
issue  of  blood.  Enough  of  it  remains,  however,  to  show  that  the 
compiler  had  no  knowledge  of  its  inner  meaning  as  an  allegory. 
Had  he  understood  it,  he  would  either  have  left  it  out  entirely,  or 
would  have  masked  its  meaning  when  he  was  abridging  it  and 
changing  its  phraseology  for  the  worse  in  a  fatuous  attempt  to  im- 
prove it.  To  him  the  incident  was  no  more  than  a  demonstration 
of  the  healing  pov/er  of  lesous,  by  which  his  fame  was  spread 
throughout  the  country — a  phrase  repeated  in  verse  31  following. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         6oi 

The  repetitions  in  Matthew  are  so  many  and  so  glaring  that  it  must 
be  inferred  that  the  compiler  had  a  faulty  memory. 

Ch.  IX.  27-31 

27  And  as  lesous  was  passing  on  from  there,  two  blind  men  fol- 
lowed him,  shouting  and  saying: 

"Have  pity  on  us,  son  of  David!" 

28  And  when  he  had  come  into  the  house,  the  blind  men  came  to 
him ;  and  lesous  says  to  them : 

"Do  you  believe  that  I  can  do  this?" 
They  say  to  him : 
"Yes,  Master." 

29  Then  he  touched  their  eyes,  saying: 

"Let  it  result  to  you  according  to  your  faith." 

30  And  their  eyes  were  opened.  And  he  enjoined  them  threat- 
eningly, saying: 

"Look  you!     Let  no  one  know  of  it!" 

31  But  they  went  out  and  made  him  known  in  all  that  land. 

COMMENTARY 

It  is  not  stated  whether  faith  on  the  part  of  the  blind  men  was 
a  necessary  element  in  their  cure  or  was  only  reciuired  as  evidence 
of  their  worthiness  to  be  cured ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  story 
to  indicate  the  grounds  upon  which  they  based  their  belief,  though 
it  could  hardly  have  had  any  basis  other  than  hearsay,  as  the  men 
were  blind.  Faith,  a  noble  word,  is  usually  employed  by  the  forgers 
for  mere  blind  credulity,  and  apparently  that  is  all  that  w^as 
demanded  by  lesous  in  this  instance.  Yet  it  is  but  natural  that 
priests  and  religious  charlatans  of  their  ignoble  sort  should  thus  urge 
upon  their  followers  the  importance  of  having  unreasoning  faith; 
for  if  the  people  should  develop  the  reasoning  faculty  and  demand 
evidence  before  giving  credence,  the  occupation  of  the  exoteric  ritu- 
alists and  dogmatists  would  be  gone. 

But  for  the  disobedience  of  the  blind  men,  after  lesous  had  so 
sternly  commanded  secrecy,  his  fame  would  not  have  gone  out.  He 
could  open  their  eyes,  but  he  could  not  shut  their  mouths. 


6o2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  IX.  32-34 

32  And  as  they  are  going  out,  behold,  they  brought  to  him 
a  dumb  man,  possessed  by  a  ghost.  33  And  when  the  ghost 
had  been  cast  out,  the  dumb  man  talked ;  and  the  crowds  won- 
dered, saying: 

"Never  has  it  been  seen  thus  in  Israel !" 

[  [34  But  the  Pharisees  kept  saying : 

"By  the  king  of  the  ghosts  he  is  casting  out  ghosts."]] 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  is  evidently  the  same  as  that  in  Luke  xi.  14,  although 
in  the  latter  it  is  the  ghost  who  is  dumb,  his  dumbness  being  com- 
municated to  his  victim.  But  Maffhczv,  yielding  to  his  weakness  for 
repetitions,  has  retold  the  story  in  xii.  22,  making  the  man  blind  as 
well  as  dumb,  and  to  that  improved  version  of  it  he  has  appended 
the  altercation  between  lesous  and  the  Pharisees,  as  in  Luke.  A 
later  interpolator,  perceiving  that  the  first  version  of  the  story  is 
thus  left  pointless,  has  ventured  to  add  a  modest  comment  (verse 
34),  taking  it  from  the  material  that  had  been  transferred  to  the 
improved  version  in  Chapter  xii.  Another  writer,  also  anxious  to 
improve  the  scriptures,  has  divided  the  discourse  of  lesous  at  about 
the  middle,  xii.  30,  and  inserted  miscellaneous  matter  to  verse  43. 
Mark  omits  the  story  of  the  dumb  (and  deaf)  man,  and  gives  the 
altercation  between  lesous  and  the  Pharisees  without  any  incident  to 
lead  up  to  it;  this  leaves  the  latter  part  of  lesous'  discourse,  relating 
to  the  strong  man  guarding  his  house,  disconnected  and  unintelli- 
gible. This  is  but  one  of  many  instances  showing  how  the  text  has 
become  a  bewildering  maze. 

Ch.  IX.  35-38 

35  And  lesous  went  about  all  the  cities  and  the  villages,  teaching 
in  their  synagogues,  and  proclaiming  the  good  news  of  the  kingdom, 
and  curing  all  kinds  of  diseases  and  bodily  infirmity  [[among  the 
people]].  36  And  seeing  the  crowds,  his  heart  was  stirred 
concerning  them  because  they  were  mangled  and  thrown  to 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         603 

the  ground,  like  sheep  [ravaged  by  wolves],  ''not  having  a  shep- 
herd."    27  Then  he  says  to  his  disciples: 

"The  harvest  indeed  is  heavy,  but  the  laborers  are  few;  38 
therefore  supplicate  the  Master  of  the  harvest,  that  he  may 
send  out  laborers  to  his  harvest." 

COMMENTARY 

This  passage  is  made  up  of  one  of  Matthew's  characteristic  repe- 
titions (iv.  23)  and  two  dislocated  "sayings"  {Mark  vi.  34  and  Luke 
X.  2).  The  "saying"  in  verse  36  is,  however,  more  faithfully  pre- 
served than  it  is  in  Mark,  for  it  retains  the  words  "mangled  and 
thrown  to  the  ground,"  ia-KvXfxeuoL  kol  ippifxevot,  mistranslated  in 
the  revised  version  as  "distressed  and  scattered."  The  "saying" 
must  have  referred  to  sheep  attacked  by  wolves,  and  the  clause  was 
clumsily  altered  to  introduce  an  Old  Testament  quotation  and  at  the 
same  time  strike  out  the  denunciation  of  the  rapacious  rulers  of  the 
common  people. 

Chapter  x.  1-16 

I  And  he  called  to  him  his  twelve  disciples,  and  gave  them 
authority  over  unclean  spirits,  in  order  to  cast  them  out,  and 
to  cure  all  kinds  of  disease  and  bodily  infirmity.  2  Now  the 
names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  these:  the  first,  Simon,  the 
so-called  Petros,  and  Andreas,  his  brother;  lakobos,  the  [son] 
of  Zebedaios,  and  Idannes,  his  brother;  3  Philippos  and  Ptole- 
maios  Junior;  Thomas  and  Matthias,  the  tax-collector;  lako- 
bos, the  [son]  of  Alphaios,  and  Thaddaios  [[a/m  Lebbaios]]; 
4  Simon,  the  native  of  Kana  [{alias  Kananites]],  and  loudas 
Iskariotes,  who  also  handed  him  over.  5  lesous  sent  forth 
these  twelve,  having  charged  them,  saying: 

"Do  not  depart  into  the  road  of  the  heathens,  and  enter  into  no 
city  of  the  Samaritans ;  6  but  go  rather  to  'the  lost  sheep  of  the 
house  of  Israel.'  7  And  proclaim  as  you  go,  saying,  *The  king- 
dom of  the  skies  has  drawn  near.'  8  Cure  the  sick,  raise  the 
dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  ghosts;  gratuitously  you  have 
received,  gratuitously  impart.     9  Provide  no  gold,  nor  silver. 


6o4  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

nor  copper  in  your  belts,  lo  no  provision-bag  for  the  road,  nor 
two  tunics,  nor  sandals,  nor  staff:  for  the  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  food.  II  And  in  whatever  city  or  village  you  may  enter, 
inquire  who  in  it  is  worthy;  and  remain  there  until  you  depart. 
12  And  as  you  are  entering  into  the  house,  give  it  kindly  greet- 
ing. 13  And  if  the  house  is  worthy,  let  your  peace  come  upon 
it;  but  if  it  is  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  return  to  you.  14 
And  whoever  will  not  receive  you,  nor  listen  to  your  words,  as 
you  depart  from  that  house  or  that  city,  shake  off  the  dust  from 
your  feet.  15  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  It  shall  be  more  endurable 
for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
than  for  that  city.  16  Behold,  I  am  sending  you  forth  as  sheep 
in  the  midst  of  wolves:  therefore  be  prudent  as  serpents  and 
guileless  as  doves. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  text  of  Matthew,  as  in  that  of  Mark,  which  it  copies,  the 
seventy-two  apostles  (the  thirty-six  extra-zodiacal  constellations) 
have  been  obliterated  from  the  heavenly  vault,  and  the  twelve  com- 
panions of  the  Solar  Hero  on  his  ecliptic  path  (the  zodiacal  con- 
stellations) are  sent  out  from  their  circumscribed  zone  to  bear  the 
message  that  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  has  drawn  near.  It  might 
better  be  termed  the  reign  of  universal  anarchy.  The  instructions 
delivered  by  lesous  to  these  anthropomorphized  asterisms  are  a  chaos 
of  dislocated  and  repeated  "sayings,"  interspersed  with  puerilities 
written  by  the  forgers.  The  glad  tidings,  it  should  be  noted,  were 
for  the  Jews  only.  The  heathens  and  the  Samaritans  were  not  to 
be  given  the  message.  The  day  of  the  foreign  missionary  had  not 
yet  come. 

Ch.  X.  17-42 

17  "But  beware  of  men ;  for  they  will  hand  you  over  to  councils, 
and  in  their  synagogues  they  will  scourge  you;  18  and  on  account 
of  me  you  will  be  dragged  before  governors  and  kings,  for  a  testi- 
mony to  them  and  to  the  heathens.  19  But  when  they  hand  you 
over,  do  not  be  concerned  about  how  or  what  you  shall  speak;  for 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        605 

it  will  be  given  you  in  that  hour  what  you  shall  speak :  20  for  you 
are  not  the  speakers,  but  your  Father's  Spirit  is  that  which  speaks 
in  you.  21  And  brother  shall  hand  over  brother  to  death,  and  the 
father  his  child ;  and  children  shall  revolt  against  parents,  and  shall 
put  them  to  death.  22  And  you  shall  be  hated  by  all  [men]  on 
account  of  my  name ;  but  he  who  remains  constant  to  the  last,  he 
shall  be  saved.  23  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee 
to  the  next :  for,  amen,  I  say  to  you.  You  will  not  finish  [the  circuit 
of]  the  cities  of  Israel  until  the  Son  of  man  has  come. 

24  "A  disciple  is  not  above  his  teacher,  nor  a  slave  above  his 
master.  25  It  is  sufficient  for  the  disciple  that  he  become  like 
his  teacher,  and  the  slave  like  his  master.  If  they  have  called 
the  house-lord  'Beelzeboul,'  how  much  more  will  they  [de- 
fame] the  members  of  his  household!  26  Therefore  do  not 
fear  them ;  for  there  is  nothing  veiled  which  shall  not  be  un- 
veiled; and  occult,  which  shall  not  be  known.  27  What  I  tell 
you  in  the  darkness,  speak  in  the  light ;  and  what  you  hear  in  the 
ear,  proclaim  upon  the  housetops.  28  And  do  not  be  terrified  be- 
cause of  those  who  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul ; 
but  rather  fear  him  who  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
Hinnom-valley.  29  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  penny?  And 
not  one  of  them  shall  fall  to  the  ground  without  your  Father's 
sanction ;  30  but  even  the  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered. 
31  Therefore  do  not  fear:  you  excel  many  sparrows.  32  Every 
one,  therefore,  who  shall  confess  me  before  men,  I  also  will  confess 
him  before  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies;  33  but  whoever  shall 
disown  me  before  men,  I  also  will  disown  him  before  my  Father 
who  is  in  the  skies. 

34  "Do  not  think  that  I  have  come  to  sow  peace  on  the  earth ; 
I  have  come  to  sow,  not  peace,  but  the  sword.  35  For  I  have 
come  to  set  a  man  'at  variance  zvith  his  father,  and  the  daughter 
with  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  with  her  mother-in-law; 
36  and  a  man's  enemies  [shall  be]  the  members  of  his  household/ 
2,7  He  who  loves  father  or  mother  above  me  is  not  worthy  of 
me;  38  and  he  who  does  not  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  after 
me  is  not  worthy  of  me.     39  He  who  has  found  his  psychic 


6o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

consciousness  shall  lose  it;  and  he  who  has  lost  his  psychic 
consciousness  for  my  sake  shall  find  it. 

40  "He  who  entertains  you  entertains  me,  and  he  who  entertains 
me  entertains  him  who  sent  me.  41  He  who  entertains  a  seer  in 
the  name  of  a  seer  shall  meet  with  a  seer's  reward ;  and  he  who 
entertains  a  just  man  in  the  name  of  a  just  man  shall  meet  with 
a  just  man's  reward.  42  And  whoever  shall  give  to  drink  to 
a  single  one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  in 
the  name  of  a  disciple,  shall  not  at  all  lose  his  reward." 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  compilation  of  this  rambling  speech  even  the  discourse 
upon  the  end  of  the  world  has  been  drawn  upon,  and  the  twelve 
Guardian-Gods  of  the  zodiacal  belt  must  have  started  on  their  ter- 
restrial circuit  of  the  cities  of  Israel  with  no  very  clear  notion  of  the 
message  which  they  were  to  convey  to  the  lost  sheep.  That  a  re- 
ligious teacher,  of  sound  mind,  would  give  these  instructions  to 
disciples  whom  he  was  sending  out  as  propagandists  is  unthinkable. 

Chapter  xi.  1-19 

1  And  it  befell  when  lesous  had  finished  commissioning  his 
twelve  disciples,  he  departed  thence  to  teach  and  proclaim  [the 
good  tidings]  in  their  cities. 

2  Now  when  loannes,  in  the  prison,  heard  of  the  doings  of 
lesous,  he  sent  by  [[two  of]]  his  disciples,     3  and  said  to  him: 

"Are  you  the  Coming  One,  or  are  we  expecting  another?" 

4  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Go  and  report  to  loannes  the  things  you  keep  hearing  and  see- 
ing: 5  'the  hlind  recover  their  sight,'  and  the  lame  are  walking; 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  are  hearing,  and  the  dead  are 
raised,  and  'the  poor  are  being  told  the  good  tidings.'  6  And 
blessed  is  he,  whoever  it  [may  be],  who  shall  not  be  offended  on 
account  of  me." 

7  But  as  they  were  going,  lesous  began  to  say  to  the  crowds 
concerning  Idannes: 

"What  did  you  go  out  into  the  desert  to  behold — a  reed 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         607 

being  swayed  by  the  wind?  8  But  what  did  you  go  out  to 
look  at — a  man  clothed  in  soft  garments?  Behold,  the  wearers 
of  soft  garments  are  in  the  palaces  of  kings.  9  But  why  did 
you  go  out?  To  look  at  a  seer?  Yes!  I  say  to  you,  and  [a 
man]  more  uncommon  than  a  seer.  10  For  this  [forerun- 
ner]  is  he  concerning  whom  it  is  written : 

'Behold,  I  am  sending  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 

Who  shall  prepare  thy  zvay  before  thee.' 
II  "Amen,  I  say  to  you,  Among  [men]  of  women  born  there 
has  not  arisen  one  more  mature  than  loannes  the  Lustrator; 
but  he  who  is  a  mere  infant  in  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  a 
more  mature  [man]  than  he.  12  But  from  the  days  of  loannes 
the  Lustrator  until  now  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  carried  by 
storm,  and  the  forceful  obtain  mastery  over  it.  13  For  all  the 
prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until  loannes.  14  And  if 
you  are  willing  to  accept  [/i//«],  he  is  Elijah,  the  one  destined 
to  come.  15  He  who  has  ears  [[to  hear]],  let  him  hear.  16 
But  to  what  shall  I  liken  this  generative-sphere?  It  is  like  to 
little  children  who,  sitting  in  the  market-places,  keep  calling  to 
their  companions     17  and  say: 

'We  have  fluted  to  you,  and  you  did  n't  dance; 

We  've  wailed,  and  you  did  n't  beat  yourselves.' 
18  For  loannes  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they 
keep  saying,  'He  is  possessed  by  a  ghost.'  19  The  Son  of  man 
came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  keep  saying,  'Behold,  a 
glutton  and  a  wine-swiller,  a  friend  of  tax-collectors  and  im- 
moral men!'  And  by  her  children  'Learning'  is  held  to  be 
accurate!" 

COMMENTARY 

loannes,  as  here  represented,  is  not  a  seer:  after  proclaiming  that 
lesous  was  coming,  he  is  unable  to  recognize  him  when  he  does 
come.  Yet  even  the  "unclean  spirits"  had  the  finer  faculty  of  sight 
which  the  divinely  appointed  forerunner  did  not  possess.  Because 
a  man  could  perform  phenomenal  cures — even  raising  the  dead — 
and  condescended  to  preach  to  the  poor,  it  would  not  necessarily  fol- 


6o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

low  that  he  was  the  promised  Messiah,  unless  it  were  also  shown 
that  only  a  Messiah  could  do  these  thing's.  In  Luke  (i.  41)  it  is 
related  that  loannes,  when  he  was  very  young  indeed,  and  occupy- 
ing even  closer  quarters  than  when  imprisoned,  recognized  lesous 
when  the  latter's  actual  existence  would  have  been  a  matter  of 
doubt  for  even  an  expert  anatomist. 

loannes  is  said  to  be  Elijah  reincarnated.  The  statement  that  he 
neither  ate  nor  drank  no  doubt  read  originally  that  he  did  not 
eat  meat  or  drink  wine ;  for  these  are  prohibited  to  those  ascetics 
who  are  engaged  in  the  telestic  work.  The  priest- forgers  seem 
to  have  modified  the  text  to  meet  their  own  views — or  appetites. 

Ch.  XI.  20-24 

20  Then  he  began  to  reproach  the  cities  in  which  most  of  his 
magic  feats  had  been  performed,  because  they  did  not  repent : 

21  "Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin!  Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsakla!  For 
if  the  magic  feats  which  have  been  performed  in  you  had  been  per- 
formed in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes.  22  However,  I  say  to  you.  It  shall  be  more 
endurable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for 
you.  23  And  shalt  thou,  Kapernaum,  'he  exalted  to  heaven''? 
Thou  'shalt  go  dozen  to  the  iindcrn'orld.'  For  if  the  magic  feats 
had  been  performed  in  Sodom  which  have  been  performed  in  thee, 
it  would  have  remained  until  to-day.  24  Howe^•er,  I  say  to  you. 
It  shall  be  more  endurable  for  the  land  of  Sodom,  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  than  for  thee." 

COMMENTARY 

This  tirade  is  given  in  Luke  as  an  expansion  of  Mark  vi.  11  (of 
which  verse  the  latter  half  is  found  only  in  later  manuscripts),  but 
here  in  Matthew  it  has  not  even  that  excuse  for  its  existence,  since 
it  is  severed  from  the  context.  Chorazin  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament  or  in  the  writings  of  Josephus.  The  claim  that 
there  was  a  city  named  Bethsa'ida  in  Galilee  also  rests  solely  upon 
the  authority  of  the  Gospels;  and  this  is  true  also  of  Kapernaum. 
Thus  the  forgers  have  made  lesous  perform  most  of  his  miracles  in 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        609 

"cities"  which  probably  never  existed,  but  which  were,  like  the 
miracles,  only  inventions  of  the  forgers.  If  the  cities  did  exist, 
their  location  is  now  unknown,  and  their  ruins  can  not  be  pointed 
out.  The  people  in  these  unreal  cities  are  said  to  have  rejected 
lesous  and  his  thaumaturgy,  although  the  citizens  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon  would  have  welcomed  him :  if  so,  he  made  a  mistake  in  wast- 
ing his  efforts  upon  the  unappreciative  Jews  when  the  Phcenicians 
would  have  accepted  him,  and  would  have  spread  the  report  of  his 
miracles  throughout  all  the  civilized  world.  But  the  Phoenicians 
were  not  "lost  sheep,"  and  their  cities  were  too  well  known  and 
accessible  to  suit  the  purposes  of  the  forgers. 

Ch.  XI.  25-30 

25  At  that  sea-son  lesous  answered  and  said : 

"I  praise  thee,  O  Father,  Master  of  the  sky  and  of  the  earth, 
that  thou  didst  hide  these  things  from  the  learned  and  the  intelli- 
gent, and  didst  unveil  them  to  infants :  26  yea.  Father,  for  thus 
it  was  rightly  intended  before  thee. 

27  "All  things  have  been  handed  over  to  me  by  my  Father.  And 
no  one  knows  again  the  Son,  except  the  Father;  neither  does  any 
one  know  again  the  Father,  except  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever 
the  Son  may  unveil  him.  28  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  who  are  toil- 
worn  and  burdened,  and  I  shall  give  you  rest.  29  Take  my  yoke 
upon  you,  and  learn  from  me ;  for  I  am  meek  and  humble  in  heart ; 
and  'you  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.'  30  For  easy  is  my  yoke, 
and  light  my  burden." 

COMMENTARY 

This  passage  is  in  strange  contrast  with  the  one  preceding  it. 
The  prayer  resembles  some  of  the  pseudo-mystical  utterances  con- 
tained in  the  Fourth  Gospel,  and  even  if  it  embodied  sound  philos- 
ophy it  would  still  be  out  of  place  in  the  Synoptic  text.  To  the 
ignorant,  the  unintelligent  and  the  immature  its  statements  may 
convey  a  wealth  of  meaning,  although  to  others  they  appear  to 
be  only  theological  fancies.  The  prayer  has  no  "historical"  setting, 
being  introduced  with  the  vague  formula  "at  that  season,"  which 


6io  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

is  evidently  a  mere  repetition  of  the  same  words  in  xii.  i  imme- 
diately following  the  interpolated  passage,  the  repetition  indicating 
the  clumsy  artifice  by  which  the  irrelevant  prayer  and  its  accom- 
panying exhortation  v/ere  foisted  in  the  text. 

Chapter  xii.   1-14 

I  At  that  season  lesous  went  on  the  sabbath  day  through  the 
grain-fields;  and  his  disciples  were  hungry  and  began  to  pluck  the 
ears  and  to  eat.  2  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  saw  [this],  said 
to  him: 

"Look,  your  disciples  are  doing  what  it  is  not  lawful  to  do  on  the 
sabbath." 

3  But  he  said  to  them : 

"Have  you  not  read  what  David  did,  when  he  w^as  hungry,  and 
those  with  him — 4  how  he  entered  into  God's  house,  and  [he  and 
his  followers]  ate  the  'loaves  of  the  display-offering'  which  it  was 
not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  nor  for  those  with  him,  but  only  for  the 
priests?  5  Or  have  you  not  read  in  the  law,  that  on  the  sabbaths 
the  priests  in  the  temple  desecrate  the  sabbath,  and  are  guiltless? 
6  But  I  say  to  you,  a  greater  Ything]  than  the  temple  is  here.  7 
But  if  you  had  understood  wdiat  [this  scripture]  is,  7  desire  com- 
passion, and  not  a  sacrificial  victim'  you  would  not  have  condemned 
the  guiltless.     8  For  the  Son  of  man  is  Master  of  the  sabbath." 

9  And  he  departed  thence,  and  went  into  their  synagogue.  10 
And  behold,  a  man  having  a  withered  hand  [was  there].  And 
they  put  to  him  a  question,  saying : 

"Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on  the  sabbath?" 
— that  they  might  prefer  charges  against  him.     11   But  he  said  to 
them : 

"What  man  [  [shall  there  be]  ]  among  you,  who  shall  have  one 
sheep,  and  if  this  [sheep]  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  sabbath,  will  he 
not  take  hold  of  it  and  raise  it  up?  12  How  much,  then,  is  a  man 
of  more  value  than  a  sheep?  So  that  it  is  lawful  to  act  nobly  on 
the  sabbath." 

13  Then  he  says  to  the  man : 

"Stretch  out  your  hand." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        6ii 

And  he  stretched  it  out,  and  it  was  restored  sound,  Hke  the  other. 

14  But  the  Pharisees  went  out  and  consulted  against  him,  how 
they  might  destroy  him. 

COMMENTARY 

The  compiler  of  Matthczv  has  here  attempted,  but  with  no  great 
measure  of  success,  to  improve  upon  the  text  of  Mark  by  strength- 
ening the  unsatisfactory  arguments  advanced  by  lesous.  The  quo- 
tation from  Hosca,  even  when  correctly  quoted,  has  no  bearing  on 
the  subject  of  keeping  the  sabbath.  The  illustration  of  the  sheep 
in  a  pit  was  used,  according  to  Luke,  on  a  different  "historical" 
occasion. 

Ch.  XII.  15-21 

15  And  lesous,  being  aware  of  it,  withdrew  thence;  and  many 
went  along  after  him ;  and  he  healed  them  all,  16  and  he  enjoined 
them  tliat  they  should  not  make  him  manifest:  ly  that  it  might 
be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  through  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying : 

18  ''Behold,  my  servant  whom  I  have  selected, 

My  beloved,  of  zvhom  my  soul  approves; 
J  zvill  put  my  Spirit  upon  him, 

And  he  shall  announce  judgment  to  the  pagans. 

19  He  shall  not  zvrangle,  nor  vociferate, 

Neitlier  shall  any  one  hear  his  z'oice  in  the  streets. 

20  A  shattered  reed  he  zv-ill  not  break  in  pieces, 
And  a  smoking  zvick  he  zvill  not  quench, 

Till  he  carries  out  the  issue  to  a  victorv. 

21  A}id  in  his  name  shall  the  pagans  hope." 

COMMENTARY 

Here,  as  in  other  instances,  words  taken  from  the  Old  Testa  in  en  t 
have  been  converted  into  a  "prophecy"  by  the  simple  process  of 
changing  verbs  from  the  past  to  the  future  tense.  Isaiah  reads,  "I 
have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him,"  not  "will  put."  The  quotation  is 
otherwise  garbled ;  and  Isaiah  can  hardly  be  held  responsible  for 
the  last  two  lines.  The  device  by  which  the  quotation  is  brought 
■nto  the  text  is  a  flimsy  one :  the  beloved  servant  shall  not  talk 


6i2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

loudly  or  be  heard  in  the  streets,  and  this  is  "fulfilled"  by  lesous 
forbidding  people  to  make  him  manifest! 

Ch.  XII.  22-37 

22  Then  a  blind  and  dumb  man,  possessed  by  a  ghost,  was 
brought  to  him  ;  and  he  healed  him,  so  that  the  [  [blind  and]  ]  dumb 
man  [[both]]  spoke  and  saw.  23  And  all  the  crowds  were 
astounded,  and  said : 

"This  [healer]  is  not  the  son  of  David,  is  he?" 

24  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  of  it,  said: 

"This  [fellow]  does  not  cast  out  ghosts  except  by  Beelzeboul, 
the  king  of  the  ghosts." 

25  And  [[lesous]],  knowing  their  cogitations,  said  to  them: 
"Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  is  devastated,  and 

every  city  or  house  divided  against  itself  shall  not  stand.  26 
And  if  the  Adversary  is  casting  out  the  Adversary,  he  is  divided 
against  himself.  How,  then,  can  his  kingdom  stand?  27  And 
if  I  by  Beelzeboul  am  casting  out  ghosts,  by  whom  do  your 
sons  cast  them  out?  Therefore  they  shall  be  your  judges.  28 
But  if  I  by  the  Breath  of  God  am  casting  out  ghosts,  then  the 
kingdom  of  God  has  taken  you  unawares.  29  Or  how  can  any 
one  enter  into  the  strong  [man's]  house,  and  pillage  his  do- 
mestic gear,  unless  he  first  binds  the  strong  [man]  ?  And  then 
he  will  pillage  his  house.  30  He  who  is  not  with  me  is  against 
me;  and  he  who  does  not  join  with  me  dissipates  [his  forces]. 
31  Therefore  I  say  to  you.  Every  sin  and  profanity  shall  be 
forgiven  men;  but  the  profanity  toward  the  sacred  Air  shall 
not  be  forgiven.  32  And  whoever  speaks  a  word  against  the 
Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him;  but  whoever  speaks 
against  the  sacred  Air,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in 
this  aeon  nor  in  the  one  to  come.  33  Either  make  the  tree  good. 
and  its  fruit  good;  or  make  the  tree  rotten,  and  its  fruit  rotten : 
for  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  34  O  brood  of  vipers,  how 
can  you,  being  evil,  speak  good  things?  For  out  of  the  heart's 
superfluities  the  mouth  speaks.  35  The  good  man  out  of  his 
[  [heart's]  ]  good  treasure  throws  out  good  things;  and  the  bad 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         613 

man  out  of  his  bad  treasure  throws  out  bad  things.     36  And 

I  say  to  you,  Every  idle  word  that  men  may  speak,  they  shall 
render  an  account  of  it  in  the  judgment  day.  37  For  you  shall 
be  held  innocent  according  to  your  words,  and  you  shall  be 
pronounced  guilty  according  to  your  w^ords." 

COMMENTARY 

This  blind  and  dumb  man  is  the  same  as  the  dumb  man  of  ix.  32 : 
his  second  appearance  on  the  scene  and  his  loss  of  sight  merely 
exemplify  Matthczv's  method  of  writing  "history."  The  injunction 
to  make  the  tree  good  or  make  it  rotten  is  an  example  of  the  absurd 
way  in  which  the  forgers  tried  to  make  the  most  of  their  literary 
material  by  repetitions,  changing  the  form  and  making  new  appli- 
cations of  the  "sayings." 

Ch.  XII.  38-45 

38  Then  some  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  answered  him, 
saying : 

"Teacher,  we  wish  to  see  your  sign." 

39  But  he  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"A  wicked  and  adulterous  age  keeps  asking  for  a  sign;  and 
no  sign  shall  be  given  to  it  except  the  sign  of  Jonah,  the  seer. 
40  For  even  as  'Jonah  zvas  three  days  and  nights  in  the  belly  of 
the  Sea-monster  [Cetus],'  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  three 
days  and  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  Earth.  41  The  men  of 
Nineveh  shall  stand  up  in  the  judgment  with  this  age,  and  shall 
condemn  it:  for  they  reformed  at  the  proclamation  of  Jonah; 
and  behold,  something  more  than  Jonah  is  here.  42  The  queen 
of  the  south  shall  rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  this  age,  and 
shall  condemn  it :  for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to 
hear  Solomon's  philosophy;  and  behold,  something  more  than 
Solomon  is  here.  43  But  the  unclean  spirit,  when  it  has  gone 
out  from  the  man,  wanders  about  in  waterless  places,  seeking 
respite  [from  its  torments],  and  finds  no  [respite].  44  Then 
it  says,  T  shall  return  to  my  house  whence  I  came  out';  and 
when  it  comes,  it  finds  it  vacant,  swept  and  decorated.  45  Then 
it  goes  and  takes  with  itself  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked 


6i4  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

than  itself,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there,  and  the  last  state 
of  that  man  becomes  worse  than  the  first.  Thus  it  shall  be  also 
to  this  wicked  ai^e." 

COMMENTARY 

The  part  of  this  discourse  beginning-  at  verse  43,  referring  to  the 
unclean  spirit,  should  follow  verse  30  above.  The  discourse  has 
been  severed,  breaking  the  sense,  and  irrelevant  matter  inserted 
which  is  made  up  of  repetitions  and  forgeries,  apparently  copied 
from  the  other  Synoptics.  Failing  to  understand  the  simile  of  the 
"strong  man,"  the  interpolator  saw  no  connection  between  it  and 
the  story  of  the  ejected  spirit,  and  disjoined  them  to  make  place 
for  his  additional  matter.  Then  at  the  end  of  verse  45  he  has  stu- 
pidly applied  the  story  of  the  possessing  spirit  to  "this  wicked  age." 

In  xii.  6  the  forger  was  evidently  laboring  to  bring  out  the  idea 
that  to  be  in  the  presence  of  lesous  was  more  sanctifying  than  to  be 
in  the  temple ;  but  he  only  delivered  the  idea  abortively  by  the  asser- 
tion that  lesous  was  a  greater  thing  than  the  temple.  Similarly  in 
verses  41  and  42  he  was  trying  to  say  that  lesous  was  a  greater 
seer  than  Jonah,  a  greater  philosopher  than  Solomon;  but  his  ideas 
were  foggy  and  his  words  are  not  clear. 

Cn.  XII.  46-50 

46  Wliile  he  was  yet  speaking  to  the  crowds,  his  mother  and  his 
brothers  were  standing  outside,  seeking  to  speak  to  him.  [  [47 
And  one  of  the  crowd  said  to  him : 

"Look,  your  mother  and  your  brothers  are  standing  outside,  seek- 
ing to  speak  to  3'OU."]] 

48  But  he  answered  and  said  to  him  who  told  him : 
"Who  is  my  mother?    And  who  are  my  brothers?" 

49  And  stretching  out  his  hand  towards  his  disciples,  he  said : 
"Behold  my  mother  and  my  brothers !    50  For  whoever  shall  do 

the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies,  he  is  my  brother,  and 
sister,  and  mother." 

Chapter  xiii.  1-23 
I  On  that  day  lesous  went  out  of  the  house,  and  sat  down 
beside  the  sea.    2  And  great  crowds  came  together  to  him,  so 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         615 

that  he  entered  into  the  ship,  and  sat  down ;  and  all  the  crowd 
stood  on  the  beach.  3  And  he  spoke  to  them  many  things  in 
allegories,  saying: 

"Behold,  the  sower  went  out  to  sow;  4  and  as  he  sowed 
some  [of  the  seeds]  fell  beside  the  road,  and  the  birds  came 
and  ate  them  up.  5  And  others  fell  on  the  rocky  [places], 
where  they  had  not  much  soil;  and  immediately  they  sprang 
up,  because  they  had  no  depth  of  soil,  6  and  when  the  sun  had 
risen  they  were  scorched;  and  because  they  had  no  root,  they 
withered  away.  7  And  others  fell  on  the  thorns;  and  the 
thorns  grew  up  and  choked  them.  8  And  others  fell  on  the 
good  soil,  and  yielded  fruit,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some 
a  hundredfold.    9  He  who  has  ears  [[to  hear]],  let  him  hear." 

10  And  his  disciples  came  and  said  to  him: 
"Why  do  you  speak  to  them  in  allegories?" 

11  And  he  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"To  you  it  has  been  permitted  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  skies;  but  to  them  it  has  not  been  permitted. 
12  For  whoever  has,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  be  in 
abundance ;  but  whoever  has  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  away 
even  what  he  has.  13  For  this  reason  I  speak  to  them  in  alle- 
gories; because  seeing  they  do  not  see,  and  hearing  they  do  not 
hear,  nor  do  they  comprehend.  14  And  to  them  is  fulfilled  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah,  which  says : 

'By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  yet  shall  not  at  all  comprehend; 
And  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  yet  not  at  all  have  insight: 

15  For  this  people's  heart  has  become  doltish, 

And  zvith  their  ears  they  hear  dully, 
And  their  eyes  they  have  closed. 
Lest  ever  they  should  see  zvith  their  eyes. 
And  hear  zvith  their  ears. 
And  understand  zvith  their  heart,  and  should  be  made  to  repent, 
And  I  should  heal  them.' 

16  But  your  eyes  are  fortunate,  because  they  see;  and  your  ears, 
because  they  hear.  17  For,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  Many  seers  and 
virtuous  [men]  have  longed  to  see  the  things  which  you  see,  and 


6i6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

did  not  see  them;  and  to  liear  the  things  which  you  hear,  and  did 
not  hear  them.  i8  Listen,  then,  to  [the  interpretation  of]  the 
allegory  of  the  sower.  19  When  any  one  hears  the  arcane  doc- 
trine, and  does  not  understand  it,  the  Evil  [Genius]  comes  and 
snatches  away  that  which  was  sown  in  his  heart.  This  is  he  who 
was  sown  beside  the  road.  20  And  he  who  was  sown  upon  the 
rocky  [places],  this  is  he  who  hears  the  arcane  doctrine,  and  imme- 
diately with  joy  receives  it;  21  yet  he  has  no  root  in  himself,  but 
is  transient,  and  when  because  of  the  arcane  doctrine  an  ordeal  or 
persecution  befalls,  immediately  he  is  tripped  up.  22  And  he  who 
was  sown  among  the  thorns,  this  is  he  who  hears  the  arcane  doc- 
trine, and  the  cares  of  [[this]]  aeon,  and  the  delusion  of  wealth, 
choke  the  arcane  doctrine,  and  it  becomes  unfruitful.  23  And  he 
who  was  sown  on  the  good  soil,  this  is  he  who  hears  and  under- 
stands the  arcane  doctrine,  who  indeed  bears  fruit,  and  produces, 
some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  a  hundredfold." 

COMMENTARY 

The  two  "sayings"  in  verses  11  and  12  have  been  joined  together 
for  no  other  reason,  apparently,  than  that  they  both  contain  the 
verb  SiSovai,  "to  give";  but  according  to  the  construction  in 
verse  11  the  verb  means  "to  grant,"  "to  allow,"  while  in  verse  12 
it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  bestowing,  of  actually  giving.  The  former 
refers  to  the  Mystery-teachings;  but  the  latter  has  reference  to  the 
capacity  of  the  disciple  for  receiving  the  inner  truths,  and  in  this 
passage  it  is  dislocated. 

The  compiler  has  adopted  the  "esoteric"  interpretation  of  the 
allegory  given  in  Mark,  apparently  not  questioning  its  accuracy; 
but  in  rewording  it  he  has  made  it  even  more  nonsensical. 

The  words  misquoted  from  Isaiah  are  not  in  any  sense  a  proph- 
ecy, but  are  a  command  given  by  the  Lord,  "Go,  and  tell  this  peo- 
ple, 'Hear  ye,  indeed,  but  understand  not,'  "  etc. ;  it  is  not  merely 
an  inaccurate  quotation,  but  one  that  has  been  deliberately  falsified. 
Even  if  it  were  a  prophecy,  duly  fulfilled,  it  would  have  very  little 
significance.  The  only  object  in  inserting  it  was  to  give  a  Jewish 
color  to  the  text. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         617 

Ch.  XIII.  24-30 

24  Another  allegory  he  put  before  them,  saying : 
"The  kingdom  of  the  skies  has  been  likened  to  a  man  who 
sowed  clean  seed  in  his  field;  25  but  while  men  slept,  his 
enemy  came  and  sowed  wheat-grass  in  between  the  wheat,  and 
went  away.  26  And  when  the  blade  sprouted,  and  produced 
fruit,  then  the  wheat-grass  appeared  also.  27  And  the  slaves 
of  the  house-lord  came  and  said  to  him: 

"  'Master,  did  you  not  sow  clean  seed  in  your  field?  From 
what  source,  then,  does  it  have  wheat-grass?' 

28  "And  he  said  to  them: 
"  'An  enemy  did  this.' 
"And  the  slaves  say  to  him: 

"  'Do  you  wish  that  we  should  go  forth  and  gather  them?' 

29  "But  he  says: 

"  'No ;  lest  while  gathering  the  wheat-grass  you  should  up- 
root the  wheat  together  with  the  wheat-grass.  30  Let  both 
grow  up  together  until  the  harvest;  and  at  the  season  of  the 
harvest  I  shall  say  to  the  harvestmen,  Gather  first  the  tares, 
and  bind  them  into  sheaves  to  burn  them ;  but  bring  the  wheat 
into  my  granary.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

The  text  of  Matthczv  gives  a  number  of  allegories  of  the  kingdom 
which  are  not  found  in  the  other  Synoptics.  If  they  were  included 
in  the  original  compilation,  and  are  not  later  additions,  then  it  would 
follow  almost  conclusively  that  the  compiler  of  Luke  did  not  copy 
from  Matthew,  for  it  is  improbable  that  he  would  have  refrained 
from  appropriating  some  of  its  finest  jewels,  while  at  the  same  time 
transferring  to  his  own  collection  the  tawdry  imitations  in  Mark 
along  with  real  gems.  It  would  seem  that  Matthew  had  not  only 
the  collection  of  "sayings"  which  he  incorporated  in  the  "sermon 
on  the  mount"  but  also  a  compilation  of  allegories  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  skies,  from  which  he  took  that  distinctive  phrase,  which  is 
not  used  by  the  other  Synoptists,  who  speak  only  of  "the  kingdom 


6i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  God."  The  compiler  of  Luke  was  superior  to  the  others  in  Hter- 
ary  abihty,  and  had  a  fondness  for  poetic  phrases:  if  the  text  of 
Matthew  had  been  before  him  he  would  undoubtedly  have  copied 
this  one,  "the  kingdom  of  the  heavens." 

Ch.  XIII.  31-32 

31  Another  allegory  he  put  before  them,  saying: 
"The  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed 
(which  a  man  took  and  sowed  in  his  field),  32  which  is  smaller 
than  all  the  seeds,  but  when  it  is  grown  is  greater  than  the 
herbs,  and  becomes  a  tree,  so  that  'the  birds  of  the  sky'  come 
and  'roost  in  its  branches.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

The  absurd  phrase,  "smaller  than  all  the  seeds,"  is  justifiably 
modified  in  the  authorized  version  to  "least  of  all  seeds" ;  but  this 
translation  is  designed  to  reproduce  the  blemishes  as  well  as  the 
beauties  of  the  text,  and  not  to  mislead  the  reader  into  the  belief 
that  the  Greek  original  is  accurate  in  statement  and  elegant  in  dic- 
tion. The  genuine  passages  in  the  Gospels  have  all  the  crudities 
and  peculiarities  that  would  naturally  result  if  an  inexperienced 
writer  with  a  limited  vocabulary  were  to  reproduce,  in  prose  and 
from  memory  only,  a  superb  poem  which  he  had  heard  recited,  thus 
clothing  sublime  conceptions  in  verbal  rags  and  tatters. 

Ch.  XIII.  33 

33  Another  allegory  he  spoke  to  them : 

"The  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  leaven,  which  a  woman  took 
and  hid  in  three  measures  of  wheaten  flour,  till  it  was  all  leavened." 

COMMENTARY 

This  "allegory"  can  only  be  regarded  as  spurious;  for  leaven 
causes  fermentation  and  corruption,  and  the  process  of  spiritual 
illumination  can  hardly  be  likened  to  the  development  of  yeast-cells. 
The  "measure"  referred  to,  the  saton,  is  the  Jewish  seah.  The 
worthless  and  badly  written  little  "allegory"  may  safely  be  classi- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        619 

fied  with  the  pseudo- Jewish  passages  in  the  text,  none  of  which 
have  any  hterary  merit  or  fidehty  to  spiritual  truths. 

Ch.  XIII.  34-43 

34  All  these  things  lesous  spoke  in  allegories  to  the  people;  and 
without  an  allegory  he  spoke  nothing  to  them  :  35  so  that  it  might 
be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  through  [[Isaiah]^  the  prophet, 
saying : 

''I  xvill  open  my  mouth  in  allegories; 

I  will  emit  things  kept  secret  since  the  hegi}i)iing  [[of  the 
world]]/' 

36  Then  [[lesous]]  left  the  crowds,  and  went  into  the  house; 
and  his  disciples  came  to  him,  saying: 

"Make  clear  to  us  the  allegory  of  the  wheat-grass  of  the  field." 

37  And  he  answered  and  said : 

"He  who  sows  the  clean  seed  is  the  Son  of  man ;  38  and  the 
field  is  the  world ;  and  the  clean  seed,  these  are  the  sons  of  the  king- 
dom; and  the  wheat-grass  [seed]  are  the  sons  of  the  Evil  [Genius]  : 
39  and  the  enemy  who  sowed  them  is  the  Accuser;  and  the  harvest 
is  the  wind-up  [of  the  affairs]  of  the  aeon;  and  the  harvestmen  are 
the  Divinities.  40  So  it  shall  be  in  the  wind-up  [of  the  affairs]  of 
the  aeon.  41  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  Divinities,  and 
they  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  [those  who  set]  snares, 
and  those  who  do  lawless  deeds,  42  and  shall  throw  them  into  the 
furnace  of  fire :  in  that  place  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth.  43  Then  the  virtuous  shall  be  resplendent  as  the  sun  in 
their  Father's  kingdom.    He  who  has  ears  [  [to  hear]  ],  let  him  hear. 

COMMENTARY 

The  words  of  the  Psalmist,  here  erroneously  credited  to  Isaiah, 
were  not  intended  as  a  prophecy,  and  here  they  have  been  dishon- 
estly rewritten  before  being  transferred  from  the  mouth  of  Yah- 
veh  to  that  of  lesous.  The  reading  "Isaiah/'  by  which  this  quota- 
tion from  Psalms  Ixxviii.  2  is  ascribed  to  the  prophet,  was  erased 
in  the  majority  of  manuscripts  after  the  philosopher  Porphyrios, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  third  century,  had  called  attention  to  the 


620  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

absurd  error;  but  the  Sinaitic  manuscript,  although  of  later  date, 
had  this  reading-,  as  is  shown  by  an  unskilful  erasure  and  altera- 
tion. 

Whenever  the  forgers  have  attempted  to  "make  clear"  an  alle- 
gory, their  explanation  of  it  is  based,  not  upon  inner  truths,  but 
upon  the  mere  outer  aspect  of  life;  for  the  forgers  were  materialists 
in  that  they  were  unconscious  of  the  spiritual  world  of  causes  and 
aware  only  of  the  objective  world  of  effects.  According  to  their 
interpretation  of  this  allegory,  the  clean  seed  are  the  good  people, 
the  followers  of  lesous ;  and  the  weeds  are  the  bad  people,  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Devil.  The  field,  which  is  the  world,  is  sown  with 
good  people  by  lesous,  with  bad  people  by  the  Devil ;  and  this  would 
seem  to  make  lesous  and  the  DevW  the  creators  of  mankind,  regard- 
less of  the  fable  about  Adam  and  Eve.  The  world  (the  field)  is 
also  the  "kingdom"  of  lesous,  from  which  the  Devil's  bad  people 
are  weeded  out  by  the  "angels,"  and  after  being  bound  into  sheaves 
are  thrown  into  "the  furnace  of  fire"  (presumably  hell),  while  the 
good  people  are  transported  from  the  "kingdom"  of  lesous,  the 
field,  to  "their  Father's  kingdom,"  the  granary! 

Ch.  XIII.  44-52 

44  "[[Again]],  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  a  treasure 
hidden  in  a  field,  which  a  man  found  and  hid ;  and  for  joy  at  it 
he  goes  and  sells  everything  that  he  possesses,  and  buys  that 
field. 

45  "Again,  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  a  merchant  seek- 
ing for  beautiful  pearls;  46  and  having  found  one  very  pre- 
cious pearl,  he  went  away  and  sold  everything  that  he  pos- 
sessed, and  bought  it. 

47  "Again,  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  a  dragnet  which 
was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  [fishes]  of  every  kind;  48 
which,  when  it  was  filled,  [the  fishermen]  hauled  up  on  the 
beach ;  and  they  sat  down  and  collected  the  good  in  baskets,  but 
the  malodorous  ones  they  threw  out.  49  So  it  shall  be  in  the 
wind-up  of  the  affairs  of  the  aeon.  The  Divinities  shall  come  forth, 
and  shall  separate  the  wicked  from  the  midst  of  the  virtuous,     50 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        621 

and  shall  throw  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire :  in  that  place  there 
shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

51  [[lesoiis  says  to  them  :]] 

"Have  you  understood  all  these  things  ?" 
They  say  to  him : 
"Yes,  Master." 

52  And  he  says  to  them : 

"Therefore  every  scribe  who  has  been  made  a  disciple  to  the 
kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  a  house-lord  who  from  his  treasure 
brings  out  things  new  and  old." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  forger  continues  his  exegesis,  which  is  not  luminous, 
but  is  lurid :  his  thought  is  fixed  on  the  settling  of  accounts  at  the 
close  of  the  cycle,  when  the  wicked  (whom  he  virtuously  hates) 
are  to  be  consigned  to  "the  furnace  of  fire"  (his  muddled  mind 
confusing  the  unedible  fish  of  this  allegory  with  the  wheat-grass  of 
a  preceding  one),  and  for  the  third  time  he  writes  the  honeyed 
phrase,  "weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,"  which  he  repeats  at  inter- 
vals later  on.  Not  content  with  merely  inserting  his  nonsensical  for- 
geries in  the  text,  he  has  the  effrontery  to  place  the  twaddle  in  the 
mouth  of  lesous.  The  character  of  the  pseudo-Iesous  reflects  the 
bigotry  and  vindictiveness  of  the  priestly  forgers. 

Ch.  XIII.  53-58 

53  And  it  befell  that  when  lesous  had  finished  these  alle- 
gories, he  withdrew  thence.  54  And  having  come  into  his 
native  [city],  he  taught  them  in  their  synagogue,  so  that  they 
were  astounded,  and  said: 

"From  what  source  does  this  [man]  have  this  learning  and 
these  powers?  55  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son?  Is  not  his 
mother  called  Mariam,  and  his  brothers  lakobos,  and  loseph, 
and  Simon,  and  loudas?  56  And  his  sisters,  are  they  not  all 
with  us?  From  what  source,  then,  does  this  [man]  have  all 
these  things?" 

57  And  they  were  offended  at  him.    But  lesous  said  to  them : 


622  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"A  seer  is  not  dishonored,  save  in  his  native  [city],  and  in 
his  own  house." 

58  And  he  did  not  exert  many  powers  there,  because  of  their 
unbelief. 

COMMENTARY 

lesous  is  here  called  the  son  of  the  carpenter,  Joseph,  though  he 
is  referred  to  in  Mark  as  "the  carpenter,  the  son  of  Mariam."  That 
lesous  should  follow  his  father's  trade  would  be  natural,  if  the 
narrative  were  historical ;  but  as  loseph  is  the  World-builder,  the 
Demiurge  of  Platonic  philosophy,  the  text  of  Matthciv  is  here  more 
accurate  than  that  of  Mark,  in  which  the  parallel  passage  has  evi- 
dently been  tampered  with.  There  are  many  things  in  Mark  which 
show  that  the  text  must  have  been  unscrupulously  "edited"  after 
Luke  and  Matthew  had  been  compiled  from  it ;  and  in  this,  and  also 
in  the  next  two  incidents,  it  has  been  considerably  expanded  by  the 
forgers.  It  is  clear  that  the  text  of  Mark  is  not  as  "primitive"  as 
it  was  when  the  compilers  of  Luke  and  of  Matthew  transferred  its 
material  to  their  pages.  But  the  honest  "he  could  not  do  any"  of 
Mark  vi.  5  is  here  softened  to  "he  did  not  do  many,"  the  theological 
forger  being  reluctant  to  admit  that  the  power  of  lesous  was 
limited.  Yet  no  instances  are  given  of  the  restoration  by  lesous  of 
missing  limbs  and  other  organs. 

Chapter  xiv.  1-12 

I  At  that  season  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  the  report  about 
lesous,    2  and  said  to  his  servants  : 

"This  is  Joannes  the  Lustrator:  he  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
because  of  this  the  forces  energize  in  him." 

3  For  Herod  had  seized  and  bound  loannes,  and  put  him  in 
prison,  on  account  of  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife.  4  For 
loannes  said  to  him  : 

"It  is  unlawful  for  you  to  take  her  [to  wife]." 

5  And  though  he  wished  to  kill  him,  he  was  afraid  of  the  popu- 
lace, because  they  held  he  was  a  seer.  6  But  when  Herod's  birthday 
came,  the  daughter  of  Herodias  danced  in  the  midst,  and  pleased 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         623 

Herod ;  7  wherefore  he  promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  what- 
ever she  should  ask.  8  But  she,  being  instigated  by  her  mother, 
says: 

"Give  me  here  on  a  dish  the  head  of  Idannes  the  Lustrator." 
9  And  the  king  was  grieved;  [[but]]  on  account  of  his  oaths, 
and  of  [his  guests]  recHning  with  [him  at  table],  he  commanded  it 
to  be  given  [to  her].  10  And  he  sent  and  beheaded  loannes  in  the 
prison.  1 1  And  his  head  was  brought  in  a  dish,  and  was  given  to 
the  little  girl;  and  she  brought  it  to  her  mother.  12  And  his  dis- 
ciples came,  and  took  up  the  corpse,  and  buried  it,  and  went  and 
announced  [it]  to  lesous. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  story  of  the  beheading  of  loannes  is  told  more  briefly 
and  crudely  than  in  Mark,  while  in  Lttke  it  is  condensed  to  a  few 
sentences,  in  which  no  mention  is  made  of  Herod's  banquet  and  the 
incidents  which  are  reminiscent  of  Queen  Esther.  The  compiler 
of  Luke  probably  shrank  from  copying  so  rank  a  plagiarism.  Here 
Matthew,  contradicting  Mark,  makes  Herod  desire  the  death  of 
Idannes;  and  then,  stupidly  contradicting  himself,  has  Herod 
"grieved"  because  he  had  brought  about  his  death. 

The  opinion  expressed  by  Herod  (verse  2)  reflects  a  Greek  su- 
perstition that  a  person  revived  from  (apparent)  death  was  sacred 
and  possessed  occult  powers. 

Ch.  XIV.  13-21 

13  And  when  lesous  heard  [it],  he  departed  thence,  in 
the  ship,  to  a  desert  place;  and  v^^hen  the  crowds  heard  [that 
he  was  going],  they  followed  him  on  foot  from  the  cities.  14 
And  [  [lesous]  ]  came  out  and  saw  a  great  crowd,  and  his  heart 
was  stirred  with  pity  for  them,  and  he  healed  their  sick.  15 
And  when  evening  arrived,  his  disciples  came  to  him,  saying: 

"The  place  is  desert,  and  the  [day] time  is  already  gone  by; 
dismiss  the  crowds,  that  they  may  go  into  the  villages  and  buy 
themselves  food." 

16  But  lesous  said  to  them: 


624  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"They  have  no  need  to  go  away;  do  you  give  them  [some- 
thing] to  eat." 

17  And  they  say  to  him: 

"We  have  nothing  here  except  five  loaves  and  two  fishes." 

18  And  he  said: 
"Bring  them  here  to  me." 

19  And  he  ordered  the  crowds  to  recline  on  the  greensward; 
and  he  took  the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fishes,  and  having 
looked  up  to  the  sky,  he  blessed,  and  broke  in  pieces  and  gave 
the  loaves  to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples  [distributed  them] 
to  the  crowds.  20  And  they  all  ate  and  were  satisfied ;  and  they 
took  up  the  remainder  of  the  broken  fragments,  twelve  hand- 
baskets  full.  21  And  those  who  ate  were  about  five  thousand 
men,  besides  women  and  children. 

COMMENTARY 

Here,  again,  the  text  of  Matthew  is  more  primitive  than  that  of 
Mark,  for  the  latter  has  evidently  been  "padded,"  though  the  essen- 
tial details  have  not  been  altered.  The  words,  "besides  women  and 
children,"  have  been  thoughtfully  added  by  one  of  the  forgers,  pre- 
sumably the  same  literary  genius  who  explained  why  the  fig-tree 
had  no  fruit,  and  who  added  the  information  that  Mariam  was 
found  to  be  with  child  "by  the  holy  Air."  Women  taking  children 
to  the  picnic  would  probably  have  brought  provisions. 

Ch.  XIV.  22-36 

22  And  immediately  he  compelled  [[his]]  disciples  to  enter  into 
the  ship  and  go  before  him  to  the  other  side,  until  he  should  send 
away  the  crowds.  2^^  And  having  dismissed  the  crowds,  he  went 
up  into  the  mountain  apart  to  pray;  and  when  evening  came,  he 
was  there  alone.  24  And  the  ship  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
harassed  by  the  waves ;  for  the  wind  was  contrary.  25  But  in  the 
fourth  watch  of  the  night  he  came  to  them,  walking  on  the  sea. 
26  But  they,  seeing  him  walking  on  the  sea,  were  thrown  into  con- 
sternation, saying: 

"It  is  a  spectre!" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW        625 

And  they  screamed  through  fear.  27  But  immediately  lesous 
spoke  to  them,  saying: 

"Take  courage:  it  is  I.     Fear  not." 

28  And  Petros  answered  him  and  said : 

"Master,  if  it  is  you,  order  me  to  come  to  you  upon  the  waters." 

29  And  he  said: 
"Come!" 

And  Petros  descended  from  the  ship,  and  walked  on  the  waters 
and  came  to  lesous.  30  But  seeing  the  [[strong]]  wind,  he  took 
fright,  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried  out,  saying: 

"Master,  save  me !" 

31  And  immediately  lesous  stretched  out  his  hand  and  took  hold 
of  him,  and  says  to  him : 

"Why  did  you  hesitate,  scant- faith?" 

32  And  when  they  had  climbed  into  the  ship,  the  wind  ceased. 
33  And   [the  disciples]  in  the  ship  worshipped  him,  saying: 

"Really  you  are  the  Son  of  God !" 

34  And  having  passed  over,  they  came  to  the  land,  to  Gennesaret. 
35  And  when  the  men  of  that  place  recognized  him,  they  sent  to  all 
that  neighboring  country,  and  brought  to  him  all  the  invalids ;  36 
and  they  besought  him  that  only  they  might  touch  the  hem  of  his 
mantle ;  and  as  many  as  touched  it  were  cured. 

COMMENTARY 

From  the  beginning  of  this  fiction  to  xvi.  12  the  text  repeats  the 
spurious  matter  inserted  in  Mark,  vi.  45  to  viii.  21,  of  which  the 
text  of  Luke  is  innocent.  Save  for  a  few  variations  in  the  wording, 
and  the  addition  of  two  minor  incidents,  due  to  the  activity  of  later 
forgers,  the  two  Synoptics  are  in  perfect  harmony.  One  of  these 
added  incidents  is  that  of  Petros  walking  on  the  water,  which  is  in 
Matthezv  only. 

Chapter  xv 

1  Then  there  come  to  lesous  from  Jerusalem  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, saying: 

2  "Why  do  your  disciples  transgress  the  tradition  of  the  an- 
cients?   For  they  do  not  wash  their  hands  when  they  eat  bread." 


626  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTy\MENT 

3  But  lie  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Why  do  you  also  transgress  God's  commanchnent  on  account  of 
your  tradition?  4  For  God  [[commanded  and  saidj],  'Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother/  and  'Let  the  reviler  of  father  or  mother 
come  to  his  end  by  the  death-penalty.'  5  But  you  say,  'Whoever 
shall  say  to  his  father  or  mother,  "That  by  which  you  might  have 
been  helped  by  me  is  a  votive  offering,"  6  he  shall  not  [be  under 
obligation  to]  honor  his  father  [[or  his  mother]]  at  all.'  And  you 
have  annulled  God's  law  on  account  of  your  tradition.  7  Hypo- 
crites !  rightly  did  Isaiah  prophesy  concerning  you,  saying : 

8  'This  people  honor  me  ivith  their  lips, 
But  far  from  me  is  their  heart. 

9  But  they  zvorship  me  fruitlessly, 

Setting  forth  [as  their']  teachings  the  injunctions  of  men.'  " 

10  And  having  called  to  him  the  crowd,  he  said  to  them: 
"Hear,  and  understand:     11   that  which  enters  the  mouth  does 

not  befoul  the  man ;  but  that  which  issues  from  the  mouth,  this 
befouls  the  man." 

12  Then  his  disciples  came  and  said  to  him : 

"Do  you  know  that  the  Pharisees  were  offended  when  they  heard 
this  doctrine?" 

13  But  he  answered  and  said: 

"Every  plant  which  my  celestial  Father  did  not  plant  shall  be 
rooted  up.  14  Leave  them:  they  are  blind  guides  [[of  the  blind]]. 
And  if  a  blind  man  guides  a  blind  man,  both  will  fall  into  a  pit." 

1 5  And  Petros  answered  and  said  to  him : 
"Make  clear  to  us  the  allegory," 

16  But  [[lesous]]  said: 

"Are  you  also  unenlightened  even  yet?  17  Do  you  not  perceive 
that  everything  which  enters  into  the  mouth  passes  into  the  belly,  and 
is  excreted  into  the  privy-vault?  18  But  the  [impurities]  issuing 
from  the  mouth  come  out  from  the  heart,  and  these  befoul  the  man: 
19  for  out  of  the  heart  come  wicked  reasonings,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  lying  testimonies,  profanities — 20  these 
are  the  things  which  befoul  the  man.  But  to  eat  with  unwashed 
hands  does  not  befoul  the  man." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         627 

21  And  lesous  went  forth  thence,  and  withdrew  to  the  districts 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  22  And  behold,  a  Kananaean  woman  came  out 
from  those  regions,  and  cried  out,  saying : 

"Have  compassion  on  me,  Master,  son  of  David !  My  daughter  is 
wretchedly  possessed  by  a  ghost." 

23  But  not  a  word  did  he  answer  her.  And  his  disciples  canle  and 
implored  him,  saying : 

"Send  her  away;  for  she  keeps  crying  after  us." 

24  But  he  answered  and  said : 

"I  was  not  sent  except  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel." 

25  But  she  came  and  worshipped  him,  saying : 
"Master,  succor  me !" 

26  But  he  answered  and  said : 

"It  is  not  right  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  throw  it  to  the 
curs." 

27  But  she  said  : 

"Yes,  ]\Iaster;  for  even  the  curs  eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from 
the  table  of  their  masters." 

28  Then  lesous  answered  and  said  to  her : 

"O  woman,  great  is  your  faith;  let  the  [outcome]  be  to  you  as 
you  wish." 

And  from  that  hour  her  daughter  was  healed. 

29  And  lesous  departed  thence,  and  came  beside  the  Sea  of 
Galilee ;  and  he  went  up  into  the  mountain,  and  he  was  sitting  there. 
30  And  to  him  came  many  crowds,  having  with  them  the  lame, 
blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and  many  others;  and  he  healed  them:  31 
so  that  the  crowds  wondered,  when  they  saw  the  dumb  speaking, 
the  maimed  sound-bodied,  the  lame  walking,  and  the  blind  seeing; 
and  they  extolled  the  God  of  Israel. 

32  And  lesous  called  his  disciples  to  him  and  said : 

"My  heart  goes  out  to  the  crowd,  because  they  are  remaining 
with  me  now  three  days ;  and  I  am  not  willing  to  send  them  away 
fasting,  lest  ever  they  faint  on  the  road." 

33  And  the  disciples  say  to  him : 

"From  what  source  do  we,  in  a  desert  place,  have  so  many  loaves 
as  to  fill  so  great  a  crowd  ?" 


628  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

34  And  lesous  says  to  them : 
"How  many  loaves  have  you?" 
And  they  said : 

"Seven,  and  a  few  httle  fishes." 

35  And  he  ordered  the  crowd  to  rechne  on  the  ground ;  36  and 
he  took  the  seven  loaves  and  the  fishes,  and  after  giving  thanks,  he 
hroke  them  in  pieces  and  gave  them  to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples 
[distrihuted  them]  to  the  crowds.  37  And  they  all  ate,  and  were 
satisfied.  And  they  took  up  the  remainder  of  the  broken  frag- 
ments, seven  baskets  full.  38  And  those  who  ate  were  four  thou- 
sand men,  besides  women  and  children.  39  And  having  dismissed 
the  crowds,  he  embarked  in  the  ship,  and  came  to  the  regions  of 
Magadan. 

Chapter  xvi.  1-12 

I  And  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came  [to  him],  and  putting 
a  test,  asked  him  to  display  to  them  a  sign  out  of  the  sky.  2  But  he 
answered  and  said  to  them : 

"[[When  it  is  evening,  you  say,  'Fair  weather  [to-morrow]  ;  for 
the  sky  is  fiery  red' ;  3  and  in  the  morning,  'Stormy  weather  to- 
day; for  the  sky  is  fiery  red  and  lowering.'  [[Hypocrites!]]  You 
know  how  to  interpret  the  face  of  the  sky,  but  you  can  not  [inter- 
pret] the  signs  of  the  seasons.]]  4  A  wicked  and  adulterous  age 
keeps  seeking  after  a  sign,  and  a  sign  shall  not  be  given  to  it,  ex- 
cept the  sign  of  Jonah  [[the  prophet]]." 

And  he  left  them,  and  went  away. 

5  And  the  disciples  came  to  the  other  side  and  forgot  to  take 
bread.     6  And  lesous  said  to  them : 

"Take  care,  and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees." 

7  And  they  argued  among  themselves,  saying : 
"We  have  not  taken  [any]  bread." 

8  And  lesous  was  aware  of  it,  and  said : 

"Why,  O  scant-faiths,  are  you  arguing  among  yourselves  because 
you  have  no  bread  ?  9  Do  you  not  perceive,  nor  do  you  remember 
the  five  loaves  for  the  five  thousand,  and  how  many  hand-baskets 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         629 

you  took  up?  10  Neither  the  seven  loaves  for  the  four  thousand, 
and  how  many  baskets  you  took  up  ?  11  How  is  it  that  you  do  not 
perceive  that  I  did  not  speak  to  you  concerning  bread?  But  [I 
said],  Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees." 

12  Then  they  understood  that  he  had  not  told  them  to  beware 
of  the  leaven  [[of  bread]],  but  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees. 

COMMENTARY 

The  story  of  the  dumb  man  recorded  in  Mark  vii.  32-37  is  not 
told  in  MattJiezv,  but  a  multitude  of  persons  afflicted  with  dumbness 
and  other  physical  ills  are  healed  in  place  of  him.  As  the  dumb  man 
had  already  been  healed  on  two  occasions  in  the  pages  of  Mattheiv, 
he  was  excused  from  further  duty.  In  other  particulars  the  text  of 
Matthezv  is  here  a  fairly  faithful  copy  of  the  wretched  forgeries 
in  Mark. 

Ch.  XVI.  13-20 

13  Now,  when  lesous  had  come  to  the  regions  of  Caesarea 
Philippi,  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying : 

"Who  do  men  say  that  the  Son  of  man  is?" 

14  And  they  said : 

"Some  [say  he  is]  loannes  the  Lustrator;  some,  Elijah;  and 
others,  Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the  prophets." 

1 5  He  says  to  them  : 

"But  who  do  you  say  that  I  am  ?" 

16  And  Simon  Petros  answered  and  said: 

"You  are  the  Anointed,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 

17  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  him: 

"Blessed  are  you,  Simon,  son  of  Jonah,  for  flesh  and  blood  did 
not  unveil  [this  secret]  to  you,  but  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies. 
18  And  I  also  say  to  you.  You  are  Petros,  and  on  this  rock  (petra) 
I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  the  underworld  shall  not 
overpow^er  it.  19  And  I  will  give  to  you  the  keys  of  the  under- 
world ;  and  whatever  you  may  bind  on  the  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  the  skies,  and  whatever  you  may  unbind  on  the  earth  shall 
be  unbound  in  the  skies." 


630  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

20  Then  he  enjoined  his  disciples  that  they  should  tell  no  one 
that  he  is  the  Anointed. 

COMMENTARY 

Simon  is  here  given  the  keys  to  the  two  gates  merely  because, 
under  the  name  Petros,  he  had  been  made  the  patron  saint  of  the 
church.  His  authority  as  guardian  of  the  gates  rests  solely  on  this 
passage  in  Matthczv,  which,  however,  contradicts  itself,  for  in  xviii. 
18  the  power  of  the  gates  is  conferred  on  all  the  twelve  disciples. 
Properly,  the  five  disciples  are  "the  keepers  of  the  gates  of  the 
heaven-world" ;  astronomically,  four  of  these  disciples  are  guar- 
dians of  the  zodiacal  gates,  while  the  fifth,  loudas,  is  keeper  of  the 
gateway  of  the  sun.  The  subject  of  the  gates  should  go  with  that 
of  the  two  thrones,  which  is  found  later  in  the  text,  xx.  20-23. 
The  "church"  is  here  an  anachronism.  How  the  gates  could  "over- 
power" the  church  is  a  mystery:  even  if  "overpower"  is  taken  to 
mean  "be  stronger  than,"  the  expression  is  a  stupid  one. 

Ch.  XVI.  21-28 

21  Henceforth  lesous  began  to  explain  to  his  disciples  that 
it  is  inevitable  for  him  to  go  away  to  Jerusalem,  and  suffer 
many  things  from  the  elders  and  chief-priests  and  scribes,  and 
to  be  killed,  and  on  the  third  day  to  be  raised  up.  22  And  Pe- 
tros took  him,  and  began  to  admonish  him,  saying : 

"[May  fate  deal]  propitiously  with  you,  Master!  This  [fate] 
shall  not  at  all  be  yours." 

23  But  he  turned  about  and  said  to  Petros : 

"Get  behind  me,  Adversary :  you  are  an  impediment  to  me ; 
for  your  mind  is  not  centred  on  the  things  of  God,  but  on  the 
things  of  men." 

24  Then  lesous  said  to  his  disciples: 

"If  any  one  wishes  to  come  after  me,  let  him  utterly  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  go  along  with  me.  25  For 
whoever  desires  to  save  his  soul  shall  lose  it ;  but  whoever  shall 
lose  his  soul  for  the  sake  of  me  shall  find  it.  26  For  what 
should  a  man  be  profited  if  he  gains  the  whole  world  and  forfeits 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW         631 

his  soul?  Or  what  should  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul? 
■zy  For  the  Son  of  man  is  about  to  come  in  his  Father's  glory, 
with  his  Divinities ;  and  then  'he  shall  recompense  each  according 
to  his  deeds.'  28  Amen,  I  say  to  you.  There  are  some  of  the  by- 
standers here  who  shall  not  at  all  taste  death  until  they  see  the  Son 
of  man  coming  in  his  kingdom." 

Chapter  xvii.   1-13 

I  And  after  six  days  lesous  takes  with  him  Petros,  and  lako- 
bos,  and  loannes,  his  brother,  and  brings  them  up  into  a  lofty 
mountain  apart;  2  and  he  was  transfigured  before  them,  and 
his  face  shone  as  the  sun,  and  his  garments  became  white  as 
the  light.  3  And  behold,  to  them  appeared  Moses  and  Elijah 
talking  with  him.    4  And  Petros  answered  and  said  to  lesous : 

"Master,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here :  if  you  wish,  I  shall  build 
here  three  dwelling-places,  one  for  you,  and  one  for  Moses, 
and  one  for  Elijah." 

5  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a  luminous  cloud  over- 
shadowed them;  and  behold,  out  of  the  cloud  [issued]  a  voice, 
saying : 

"This  is  my  favorite  Son,  of  whom  I  have  approved;  hear 
ye  him." 

6  And  when  they  heard  it,  the  disciples  fell  on  their  face,  and 
were  exceedingly  terrified.  7  And  lesous  came  to  them,  and  touch- 
ing them,  said : 

"Arise,  and  do  not  be  terrified." 

8  And  when  they  lifted  up  their  eyes  they  saw  no  one,  except 
lesous  only. 

9  And  as  they  were  descending  from  the  mountain,  lesous 
charged  them,  saying : 

"Tell  the  vision  to  no  one,  until  the  Son  of  man  be  risen  from 
the  dead." 

10  And  the  disciples  asked  him,  saying: 

"Why,  then,  do  the  scribes  say  that  Elijah  must  come  first  ?" 

I I  And  he  answered  and  said : 

"Elijah  indeed  comes  [[first]]  and  restores  all  things;     12  but 


632  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

I  say  to  you,  Elijah  is  come  already,  and  they  did  not  recognize 
him,  but  have  done  to  him  whatever  they  desired.  So  also  the  Son 
of  man  is  about  to  suffer  from  them." 

13  Then  the  disciples  understood  that  he  spoke  to  them  of  Icjan- 
nes  the  Lustrator. 

»    COMMENTARY 

The  passage  relating  to  loannes  the  Lustrator  as  a  reincarnation 
of  Elijah  is  omitted  by  Luke,  and  the  compiler  of  that  Gospel  in 
other  passages  also  avoids  the  subject  of  reincarnation.  Presuma- 
bly this  is  because  Luke  is  of  later  date  than  the  other  Synoptics,  and 
the  doctrine  of  reincarnation,  being  inconsistent  with  that  of  eternal 
damnation,  was  becoming  objectionable  to  the  church,  which  later 
on  officially  declared  it  to  be  heretical.  In  a  number  of  other  in- 
stances Mattheiv  and  Mark  both  contain  interpolations  that  are  not 
in  Luke;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  few  places  where 
Luke  agrees  with  Mattheiv  in  a  slight  variation  from  the  text  of 
Mark,  but  this  agreement  is  probably  due  to  the  work  of  later  for- 
gers, who  made  feeble  attempts  to  harmonize  the  readings  in  the 
Gospels.  There  are  many  instances,  in  later  manuscripts,  of  such 
ineffectual  attempts  to  produce  harmony  by  transferring  readings 
from  one  Gospel  to  another.  These  interpolations  are  now  rejected 
on  the  authority  of  the  older  manuscripts,  yet  the  latter  also  have 
clearly  been  subjected  to  the  same  process  of  copying  from  one  text 
into  another. 

Ch.  XVII.  14-21 

14  And  when  they  came  to  the  crowd,  a  man  came  to  him,  falling 
on  the  knee  to  him,  and  saying : 

15  "Master,  have  compassion  on  my  son:  for  he  is  moon-struck, 
and  suffers  miserably;  for  often  he  falls  into  the  fire,  and  often  into 
the  water.  16  And  I  brought  him  to  your  disciples,  and  they  were 
unable  to  cure  him." 

17  And  lesous  answered  and  said: 

"O  unbelieving  and  perverted  age,  until  when  shall  I  be  with 
you?    Until  when  shall  I  bear  with  you?    Bring  him  to  me." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  633 

18  And  lesoiis  reproved  him,  and  the  ghost  went  out  from  him; 
and  from  that  hour  the  boy  was  cured.  19  Then  the  disciples  came 
to  lesous  privately,  and  said : 

"Why  were  we  unable  to  cast  him  out?" 

20  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Because  of  your  unbelievingness.  For,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  If 
you  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  you  shall  say  to  this 
mountain,  'Remove  from  here  to  there' ;  and  it  shall  remove ;  and 
nothing  shall  be  impossible  to  you.  [[21  But  this  kind  does  not 
go  out  except  by  prayer  and  fasting.]]" 

COMMENTARY 

The  spurious  portions  of  Mark  are  often  much  longer  than  their 
parallels  in  the  other  Synoptics,  apparently  because  the  compilers  of 
the  latter,  recognizing  the  inferiority  of  these  interpolations,  con- 
densed them  with  a  view  to  making  them  less  objectionable.  In 
Matthezifs  version  of  the  moon-struck  boy  there  is  a  characteristic 
repetition,  the  "saying"  about  faith  and  the  mountain  having  been 
borrowed  from  xxi.  21,  but  turned  into  an  absurdity  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  mustard  seed  as  a  measure  of  faith.  Faith  as  incon- 
siderable as  a  mustard  seed  can  produce  only  proportionally  insig- 
nificant results.  Verse  21  is  evidently  an  addition  made  by  a  later 
textual  harmonizer,  who  transferred  it  from  Mark  ix.  29.  The 
epileptic  son  was  an  "only-born"  (monogenes)  according  to  Luke, 
who  elsewhere  also  displays  a  preference  for  small  families. 

Ch.  XVII.  22-27 

22  Now,  while  they  were  gathering  themselves  together  in  Gali- 
lee, lesous  said  to  them : 

"The  Son  of  man  is  about  to  be  handed  over  into  the  hands  of 
men,  23  and  they  will  kill  him ;  and  on  the  third  day  he  shall 
be  raised  [from  the  dead]." 

And  they  were  exceedingly  grieved. 

24  And  when  they  came  to  Kapernaum,  the  [collectors]  who 
receive  the  double-drachmas  [as  tribute]  came  to  Petros  and  said: 


634  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Does  not  your  Teacher  pay  the  double-drachmas?" 

25  Says  he: 
"Yes." 

And  when  he  entered  into  the  house,  lesous  anticipated  him, 
saying : 

"What  is  your  opinion,  Simon  ?  From  whom  do  the  kings  of  the 
earth  receive  tolls  and  tributes — from  their  sons,  or  from  for- 
eigners ?" 

26  And  when  he  had  said,  "From  foreigners,"  lesous  said  to 
him : 

"Surely,  then,  the  sons  are  exempt.  27  But  that  we  may  not 
ofifend  them,  go  to  the  sea  and  cast  a  fish-hook,  and  take  the  first 
fish  that  comes  up ;  and  on  opening  its  mouth  you  will  find  a  stater : 
take  that,  and  give  it  to  them  for  me  and  you." 

COMMENTARY 

As  a  stater  was  of  the  value  of  four  drachmas,  the  coin  ab- 
stracted from  the  fish  would  pay  the  tax  for  lesous  and  Petros ;  but 
what  was  done  in  the  case  of  the  other  disciples  is  left  a  matter 
for  conjecture.  It  is  not  improbable  that  money  should  be  found 
in  a  fish,  though  it  is  remarkable  that  the  first  fish  caught  should  be 
so  opportunely  provided— if  things  happened  as  lesous  had  foretold 
— with  the  exact  sum  required ;  hence  this  incident  need  not  be  re- 
garded as  a  miracle,  but  merely  as  a  "fish-story." 

Chapter  xviii.  1-14 

1  In  that  hour  the  disciples  came  to  lesous,  saying: 
"Who,  then,  is  more  mature  in  the  kingdom  of  the  skies?" 

2  And  he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  their 
midst,    3  and  said: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  Unless  you  turn  about  and  become  as 
little  children,  you  shall  not  at  all  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
the  skies.  4  Whoever,  therefore,  shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  he  is  more  mature  in  the  kingdom  of  the  skies.  5 
And  whoever  shall  entertain  one  such  little  child  in  my  name 
entertains  me ;  ....  6  but  whoever  shall  place  an  impediment 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  635 

in  the  way  of  one  of  these  little  ones  who  believe  in  me,  it  is 
profitable  for  him  that  a  ponderous  millstone  should  be  hung 
about  his  neck,  and  he  should  be  drowned  in  the  depths  of  the 
sea.  7  Woe  to  the  world  because  of  impediments !  For  it  is 
necessary  that  the  impediments  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man 
through  whom  the  impediment  comes!  8  And  if  your  hand 
or  your  foot  is  an  impediment  to  you,  amputate  it,  and  throw 
it  away  from  you ;  it  is  good  for  you  to  enter  into  the  [aeonian] 
life  limping  or  maimed,  [rather]  than  having  two  hands  or  two 
feet  to  be  thrown  into  the  aeonian  fire.  9  And  if  your  eye  is  an 
impediment  to  you,  gouge  it  out,  and  throw  it  away  from  you; 
it  is  good  for  you  to  enter  into  the  [aeonian]  life  one-eyed, 
[rather]  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  thrown  into  the  Hinnom- 
valley  of  fire.  10  See  that  you  do  not  despise  one  of  these  little 
ones;  for  I  say  to  you,  In  the  skies  their  Divinities  always  be- 
hold the  face  of  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies.  [[11  For  the 
Son  of  man  is  come  to  save  that  which  is  lost.]]  12  What  is 
your  opinion?  If  any  man  should  have  a  hundred  sheep,  and 
one  of  them  be  gone  astray,  does  he  not  leave  the  ninety-nine, 
and  go  on  the  mountains  and  seek  that  stray  [sheep]  ?  13  And 
if  it  should  be  that  he  finds  it,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  He  rejoices 
more  over  it  than  over  the  ninety-nine  which  have  not  gone 
astray.  14  Thus  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  who  is  in  the 
skies,  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish. 

COMMENTARY 

Between  verses  5  and  6  there  is  clearly  a  lacuna:  "these  little  ones 
who  believe  in  vie"  of  verse  6  are  not  identical  with  "one  such  little 
child"  of  verse  5.  These  two  verses  correspond  respectively  to 
verses  37  and  42  of  Mark  ix,  where  the  intervening  verses  contain 
the  beautiful  story  of  the  healer  who  was  not  a  follower  of  lesous. 
In  Luke  that  story  occupies  the  same  place  in  the  text  as  in  Mark; 
but  instead  of  it  Matthezi'  has,  in  verses  8  and  9,  a  repetition  of  the 
fanatical  and  grimly  savage  utterances  given  in  Ch.  v.  29,  30.  It  is 
therefore  apparent  that  the  text  of  Matthew  was  here  the  same  as 
that  of  Mark  until  some  bigoted  forger,  disapproving  of  the  broad 


636  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tolerance  inculcated  in  the  story  of  the  n(Mi-apostolic  healer,  erased 
it  and  filled  the  space  thus  left  in  the  manuscript  with  the  other 
doctrine  that  was  more  to  his  liking". 

Cii.  XVIII.   15-35 

15  "But  if  your  brother  sins  [[against  you]],  go  and  reprove 
him  between  you  and  him  alone.  If  he  listens  to  you,  you  have  won 
your  brother  over.  16  But  if  he  will  not  listen,  take  with  you  one 
or  two  besides,  that  'on  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  or  three  every 
zvord  may  he  confirmed.'  17  But  if  he  fails  to  listen  to  them,  tell 
it  to  the  church;  and  if  he  fails  also  to  listen  to  the  church,  let  him 
be  to  you  as  the  heathen  and  the  tax-collector.  18  Amen,  I  say  to 
you,  Whatever  things  you  may  bind  on  the  earth  shall  be 
bound  in  the  sky,  and  whatever  things  you  may  unbind  on  the 
earth  shall  be  unbound  in  the  sky.  19  Again,  [[amen]],  I  say 
to  you.  If  two  of  you  shall  agree  together  on  earth  as  respects 
any  affair  which  they  shall  request  for  themselves,  it  shall  be 
their  portion  from  my  Father  who  is  in  the  skies.  20  For 
where  there  are  two  or  three  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 

21  Then  Petros  came  and  said  [[to  him]]  : 

"Master,  how  many  times  shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and 
I  forgive  him?    Until  seven  times?" 

22  lesous  says  to  him : 

"I  do  not  say  to  you,  Until  seven  times,  but.  Until  seventy  times 
seven.  23  For  this  reason  the  realm  of  the  skies  has  been  likened  to 
a  king  who  proposed  to  adjust  accounts  with  his  slaves.  24  And 
when  he  had  begun  to  adjust  [the  accounts],  there  was  brought  to 
him  one  who  owed  ten  thousand  talents.  25  But,  as  he  did  not  have 
[the  money]  to  pay,  his  master  ordered  him  to  be  sold,  and  his  wife 
and  children,  and  all  the  things  he  possessed,  and  [the  debt]  to  be 
paid.  26  The  slave  therefore  fell  down  and  did  homage  to  him,  say- 
ing, 'Master,  be  lenient  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  you  all.'  2y  And,  his 
heart  being  stirred,  the  master  of  that  slave  set  him  free,  and  remitted 
to  him  the  loan,  28  But  that  slave  went  out  and  found  one  of  his 
fellow-slaves,  who  was  owing  him  a  hundred  denarii;  and  he  seized 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  637 

him,  and  throttled  him,  saying,  'Pay  [[me]]  whatever  you  owe.'  29 
Thereupon  his  fellow-slave  fell  down  [[at  his  feet]],  and  en- 
treated him,  saying,  'Be  lenient  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  you 
[[all]].'  30  But  he  was  unwilling,  and  went  and  threw  him  into 
prison,  until  he  should  pay  what  was  owing.  31  Thereupon  his 
fellow-slaves,  when  they  saw  these  happenings,  were  exceedingly 
grieved,  and  they  came  and  announced  to  their  master  all  these  hap- 
penings. 32  Then  his  master  called  him  to  him,  and  says  to  him : 
'You  wicked  slave,  I  remitted  to  you  all  that  debt,  since  you  entreated 
me:  33  should  not  you  also  have  shown  mercy  on  your  fellow- 
slave,  even  as  I  showed  mercy  on  you?'  34  And  his  master  was 
indignant,  and  handed  him  over  to  the  torturers  until  he  should 
pay  all  that  was  owing.  35  Thus  also  shall  my  celestial  Father  do 
to  you,  if  you  do  not  each  forgive  his  brother  from  your  hearts 
[[their  misdeeds]]." 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  ekklesia,  "church,"  is  found  nowhere  in  the  Gospels 
save  in  the  above  passage  and  in  xvi.  18,  where  Petros  is  said  to  be 
the  rock  upon  which  the  "church"  was  to  be  founded.  Even  those 
who  believe  in  the  historicity  of  the  Nczv  Testament  concede  that 
there  was  no  church  in  existence  during  the  lifetime  of  lesous.  The 
theological  explanation  that  "church"  was  written  inadvertently  for 
"kingdom"  in  the  promise  to  Petros  only  makes  matters  worse,  by 
designating  Petros  as  the  building-site  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ! 
The  theory  that  lesous  was  speaking  prophetically  is  untenable ;  for 
in  this  discourse  on  the  forgiveness  of  sins  an  organized  church 
is  referred  to  as  being  then  in  working  order.  The  only  rational 
explanation  is  that  both  passages  are  impudent  forgeries. 

The  amount  which  the  slave  owed  his  master  was  ten  million 
dollars.  After  his  royal  master  has  remitted  to  him  this  trifling 
loan,  he  unsuccessfully  attempts  to  collect  a  debt  of  seventeen  dollars 
from  a  fellow-slave,  whom  he  throttles  and  sends  to  prison.  Hear- 
ing of  this,  the  king  demands  payment  of  the  ten-million-dollar  loan, 
and  turns  the  unforgiving  slave  over  to  the  men  who  employed  the 
rack  and  other  ingenious  instruments  of  torture  in  the  endeavor  to 


638  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

extract  from  him  the  ten  milHon  dollars  which  he  did  not  possess ; 
and  the  collectors  were  to  torture  him  until  he  paid  it  all.  This 
nonsense  is  gravely  presented  as  an  "allegory"  on  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  spoken  by  the  incarnate  Son  of  God! 

Chapter  xix.  1-12 

I  And  it  befell  that  when  lesous  had  finished  [enunciating] 
these  doctrines  he  withdrew  from  Galilee,  and  came  to  the  borders 
of  Judaea  beyond  the  Jordan ;  2  and  numerous  crowds  went  along 
after  him,  and  he  healed  them  there. 

3  And  Pharisees  came  to  him,  putting  him  to  a  test,  saying : 
"Is  it  lawful   [[for  a  man] J   to  divorce  his  wife  on  every 

ground  of  accusation?" 

4  And  he  answered  and  said  [[to  them]]  : 

"Have  you  not  read  that  the  World-builder  'made  them' 
from  the  primal  element  'male  and  female,'  5  and  said,  'On 
this  account,  a  man  shall  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall 
be  cemented  to  his  wife,  and  the  ttvo  shall  become  one  carnal  body'? 
6  So  that  they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one  carnal  body.  What, 
therefore,  God  has  yoked  together,  let  not  man  separate." 

7  They  say  to  him  : 

"Why,  then,  did  Moses  command  *to  give  a  bill  of  divorce, 
and  to  divorce  [  [her]  ] '  ?" 

8  He  says  to  them: 

"Moses,  in  view  of  your  hard-heartedness,  allowed  you  to 
divorce  your  wives.  But  [man]  has  not  thus  sprung  from  the 
primal  element.  9  And  I  say  to  you,  Whoever  shall  divorce  his 
wife,  except  for  fornication,  and  shall  marry  another,  commits 
adultery;  [[and  he  who  marries  the  divorced  [woman]  commits 
adultery]]." 

10  The  disciples  say  to  him: 

"If  thus  is  the  accusation  against  man,  along  with  woman, 
it  is  not  advisable  to  marry." 

II  But  he  said  to  them: 

"Not  all  [men]  are  capable  of  receiving  this  arcane  doctrine, 
but  [only  those]  who  are  gifted.     (12  For  there  are  emascu- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  639 

lates  who  were  thus  born  from  their  mother's  belly,  and  there 
are  emasculates  who  were  emasculated  by  men,  and  there  are  emas- 
culates who  emasculated  themselves  with  a  view  to  the  kingdom  of 
the  skies.)     He  who  is  able  to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it." 

COMMENTARY 

Of  this  screed  on  the  subject  of  divorce,  Luke  contains  but  one 
sentence,  which  is  similar  to  verse  5.  and  the  latter  is  a  repetition 
of  V.  32.  The  phrase  translated  ''bill  of  divorce"  might  be  more 
literally  rendered  "certificate  of  desertion,"  implying  that  the  wife 
had  repudiated  her  husband's  protection ;  while  apoliiein,  rendered 
"to  put  away"  in  the  authorized  version,  is  strictly  "to  release,"  "to 
set  free,"  giving  the  subject  a  cheerfulness  unwelcome  to  the  eccle- 
siastical mind.  The  coarsely  worded  parenthetical  clause  about 
emasculates,  or  eunuchs,  interrupts  the  sense,  and  is  obviously  an 
interpolation.  The  forger  who  foisted  in  the  text  this  revolting 
statement  failed  to  perceive  that  it  does  not  tally  with  the  preceding 
quotation,  falsified  from  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  to  the  effect  that 
God  made  human  beings  male  and  female,  and  that  man  and  wife 
are  indissolubly  cemented  together  by  marriage.  The  true  ancient 
teaching  is  that  the  soul  itself  is  sexless,  and  that  in  the  evolution 
of  the  physical  form  human  beings  were  androgynous  before  they 
fell  into  generation,  the  "fall"  being  the  separation  into  sexes. 

Ch.  XIX.  13-30 

13  Then  were  brought  to  him  little  children,  that  he  should 
lay  his  hands  on  them,  and  pray;  but  the  disciples  reproved 
them.     14  But  lesous  said: 

"Permit  the  little  children,  and  do  not  forbid  them,  to  come 
to  me :  for  to  such  belongs  the  kingdom  of  the  skies." 

15  And  having  laid  his  hands  on  them,  he  went  away  from  there. 

16  And  behold,  one  came  to  him  and  said: 

"[[Good]]  Teacher,  what  good  [work]  shall  I  do  that  I  may 
have  aeonian  life?" 

17  And  he  said  to  him: 

"Whv  do  vou  ask  me  about  the  Good  ?    There  is  One  who  is  the 


640  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Good.  But  if  you  would  enter  into  [aeonian]  life,  strictly  keep  the 
commandments." 

18  He  says  to  him : 

"Which?" 

And  lesous  said : 

"  'Thou  shalt  not  kill,  Thou  shall  not  commit  adultery,  Thou 
shall  not  steal,  Tliou  shalt  not  testify  falsely,  19  Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother,'  and,  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'  " 

20  Says  the  young  man  to  him : 

"All  these  things  I  have  observed.     What  do  I  lack  yet?" 

21  lesous  said  to  him: 

"If  you  wish  to  be  perfect,  go,  sell  your  property,  and  give  the 
[proceeds]  to  the  mendicants,  and  you  will  have  treasure  in  the  sky. 
And  come,  follow  me." 

22  But  when  the  young  man  heard  [[this]],  he  went  away 
grieved  ;  for  he  was  one  who  had  great  possessions.  22,  And  lesous 
said  to  his  disciples : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  With  difficulty  shall  a  rich  man  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  the  skies.  24  And  again  I  say  to  you.  It  is  more 
feasible  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

25  And  the  disciples,  when  they  heard  [this  doctrine],  were  ex- 
ceedingly astonished,  saying: 

"Who,  then,  can  be  saved?" 

26  But  lesous,  gazing  at  [them],  said  to  them: 

"This  is  impossible  with  men ;  but  all  things  are  possible  with 
God." 

27  Then  Petros  answered  and  said  to  him: 

"Look,  we  have  left  all,  and  have  followed  you.  What,  then, 
are  we  to  get?" 

28  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  You  who  have  followed  me,  in  the  new 
birth  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory, 
you  also  shall  sit  on  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel.  29  And  every  one  who  has  left  houses,  or  brothers, 
or   sisters,   or    father,   or   mother,    [[or   wife]],   or   children,   or 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  641 

lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall  receive  many  times  as  many, 
and  shall  inherit  aeonian  life.  30  But  many  [who  are]  first  shall 
be  last,  and  last,  first. 

COMMENTARY 

In  later  manuscripts,  which  are  followed  by  the  received  text,  the 
rich  man  addresses  lesous  as  ''Good  Master,"  and  lesous  asks  him, 
"Why  do  you  call  me  'good'  ?"  This  change  was  made  to  harmonize 
the  text  with  that  of  Mark  and  Luke.  But  between  the  two  read- 
ings, in  point  of  stupidity,  there  is  little  to  choose.  As  a  teacher 
of  spiritual  philosophy  lesous  should  have  welcomed  questions  con- 
cerning the  Good,  the  Beautiful  and  the  True.  The  words  "Good 
Teacher"  are  merely  a  polite  form  of  address,  and  the  adjective,  so 
used,  is  not  strong  enough  to  sustain  the  statement  which  lesous 
bases  upon  it ;  and  on  the  theological  theory  that  lesous  is  God's 
only  Son,  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  he  should  disclaim  being  good. 
If  he  was  not  good,  he  must  have  had  evil  elements  in  his  nature. 
The  second  question  asked  by  the  rich  man  implies  that  in  his  opin- 
ion some  of  the  commandments  need  not  be  observed  by  aspirants 
for  immortality;  and  this  is  certainly  true  of  the  injunction  relating 
to  the  observance  of  the  sabbath.  According  to  Matthezv  the  rich 
man  was  even  more  exemplary  than  he  was  according  to  the  other 
Synoptics:  for  here  he  loves  his  neighbor.  However,  as  he  did  not 
love  the  beggars  sufficiently  to  beggar  himself  for  their  benefit,  he 
failed  to  go  through  the  needle's  eye.  Some  commentators  hold 
that  the  text  should  read  KajxCkov,  "a  rope,"  instead  of  KafjLrjXov, 
"a.  camel" ;  but  in  making  this  emendation  the  former  word  had 
to  be  invented,  as  the  Greek  language  possesses  no  such  word.  The 
invention  of  a  gate  at  Jerusalem  which  was  too  narrow  for  camels 
to  go  through  is  another  disingenuous  device  to  "explain"  the  text. 
But  in  any  case  the  saying  expresses  an  impossibility;  therefore  it 
follows  that  heaven  is  reserved  exclusively  for  poor  people. 

Here  each  of  the  twelve  disciples  is  to  occupy  a  throne,  the  for- 
gers having  neglected  to  deprive  loudas  of  his  heavenly  seat.  But 
in  Ltike  xxii.  30  the  number  of  thrones  is  not  stated,  some  inspired 
historian  having  thoughtfully  erased  the  word  "twelve." 


642  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Chapter  xx.  i-i6 

I  "For  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  is  like  to  a  house-lord  who  went 
out  at  break  of  day  to  hire  laborers  for  his  vineyard.  2  And  when 
he  had  agreed  with  the  laborers  for  a  denarius  a  day,  he  sent  them 
into  his  vineyard.  3  And  he  went  out  about  the  third  hour,  and 
saw  others  standing  in  the  market-place  idle;  4  and  to  them  he 
said: 

"  'Do  you  go  also  into  the  vineyard,  and  I  shall  give  you  whatever 
is  just.' 

5  "And  they  went.  Again  he  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  the 
ninth  hour,  and  did  in  just  the  same  way.  6  And  about  the  eleventh 
[[hour]]  he  went  out  and  found  others  standing  [[idle]];  and 
he  says  to  them  : 

"  'Why  do  you  stand  here  the  whole  day  idle  ?' 

7  "They  say  to  him : 

"  'Because  no  one  has  hired  us.' 

"He  says  to  them : 

"  'Do  you  also  go  into  the  vineyard.* 

8  "And  when  evening  came  the  master  of  the  vineyard  says  to 
his  overseer : 

"  'Call  the  laborers  and  pay  them  their  wages,  beginning  from 
the  last  unto  the  first.' 

9  "And  when  those  came  who  [had  been  hired]  about  the  elev- 
enth hour,  they  received  each  a  denarius.  10  And  when  the  first 
came,  they  presumed  that  they  would  receive  more  ;  and  they  likewise 
received  a  denarius.  1 1  And  when  they  received  it  they  grumbled 
against  the  house-lord,     12  saying: 

"  'These  last  [comers]  have  worked  [only]  one  hour,  and  you 
have  made  them  equal  to  us,  who  have  borne  the  burden  of  the 
day  and  the  burning  heat.' 

13  "But  he  answered  and  said  to  one  of  them: 

"  'Comrade,  I  am  not  doing  you  injustice.  Did  you  not  agree 
with  me  for  a  denarius?  14  Take  what  is  yours,  and  go:  I  am 
willing  to  give  [a  denarius]  to  this  last  [comer],  as  also  to  you. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  643 

15  Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own?    Or 
is  your  eye  sore  because  I  am  good  ?' 

16  "So  the  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last.  [[For  many 
are  probationers,  but  few  are  those  who  are  culled  out.]]" 

COMMENTARY 

The  suggestion  that  laborers  unable  to  obtain  employment  should 
receive  wages  during  the  time  of  their  enforced  idleness  is  an  excel- 
lent one ;  but  their  employer  could  not  be  expected  to  make  up  for 
the  time  they  had  lost  before  he  hired  them.  But  the  author  of 
the  "allegory"  did  not  intend  to  suggest  this,  and  all  that  can  be 
implied  from  the  story  is  that  the  laborer  should  receive  not  less 
than  a  day's  wages,  even  if  he  works  but  one  hour.  This  may 
be  a  sound  economic  doctrine ;  but  it  is  certain  that  this  otherwise 
meaningless  fiction  has  no  place  among  the  superb  allegories  of  the 
kingdom. 

Ch.  XX.  17-28 

17  And  when  lesous  was  about  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  he 
took  the  twelve  disciples  apart;  and  on  the  road  he  said  to 
them: 

18  "Behold,  we  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Son  of 
man  will  be  handed  over  to  the  chief-priests  and  scribes,  and 
they  will  sentence  him  to  death,  19  and  hand  him  over  to  the 
profane,  to  make  sport  of,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify;  and 
on  the  third  day  he  will  rise  [from  the  dead]." 

20  Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedaios 
with  her  sons,  making  obeisance  and  asking  a  certain  thing  of 
him.     21  And  he  said  to  her: 

"What  do  you  wish?" 

She  says  to  him : 

"Declare  that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  one  at  your  right 
hand,  and  one  at  your  left  hand,  in  your  kingdom." 

22  But  lesous  answered  and  said: 

"You  know  not  what  you  ask.    Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup 


644  Tf^I*'  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

which  I  am  about  to  drink  [[and  to  be  lustrated  with  the  lus- 
tration with  which  I  am  being  lustratedj  J  ?" 

They  say  to  him: 

"We  are  able." 

23  He  says  to  them: 

"You  shall  indeed  drink  my  cup  [  [and  shall  be  lustrated  with 
the  lustration  with  which  I  am  being  lustrated]] ;  but  to  sit  at 
my  right  hand  and  at  [my]  left  hand  is  not  mine  to  grant;  but 
[you  are  the  two]  for  whom  it  has  been  prepared  by  my 
Father." 

24  And  the  ten,  when  they  heard  [this],  were  displeased 
about  the  two  brothers.  25  But  lesous  called  them  to  him,  and 
said: 

"You  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  profane  hold  them  in  sub- 
jection, and  their  great  ones  domineer  over  them.  26  Among 
you  it  is  not  so;  but  whoever  wishes  to  become  great  among 
you  shall  be  your  servant,  2y  and  whoever  wishes  to  be  first 
among  you  shall  be  your  slave;  28  even  as  the  Son  of  man 
did  not  come  to  be  served,  but  to  do  service,  and  to  give  his 
life  as  a  ransom  for  many." 

COMMENTARY 

In  Mark  it  is  the  two  disciples  themselves  who  ask  to  be  seated 
on  the  thrones  of  honor.  But  Matthezu,  to  make  them  appear  less 
self-seeking,  has  their  mother  speak  for  them,  and  then,  copying 
the  text  of  Mark,  has  lesous  address  the  answer  to  them,  "Ye  know 
not  what  yc  ask,"  thus  betraying  the  fact  that  the  disciples,  and  not 
their  mother,  asked  the  question.  Even  the  lacuna  in  Mark  x.  40 
is  reproduced.  In  Luke  the  two  thrones  are  not  mentioned,  but  in 
Chapter  xxii  the  question  as  to  which  of  the  disciples  is  greatest 
is  brought  up  during  the  "last  supper,"  immediately  after  the  dis- 
cussion concerning  who  is  to  make  the  paradosis,  and  the  twelve 
thrones  are  referred  to.  This  is  where  the  incident  properly  be- 
longs; and  Luke  has  here  the  same  teaching  about  "service"  as  the 
other  Synoptics.  Instead  of  two  "thrones,"  two  "swords"  are 
spoken  of,  very  inappropriately.     Thus  it  would  seem  that  in  Mark 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  645 

and  Mattheiv  the  passage  is  dislocated;  while  in  Luke  it  has  been 
mutilated  almost  beyond  recognition,  the  allusion  to  the  two  thrones 
having  been  expunged  and  a  spurious  incident  about  two  swords 
substituted  for  it. 

Ch.  XX.  29-34 

29  And  as  they  were  going  out  from  Jericho,  a  numerous  crowd 
followed  him.  30  And  behold,  two  blind  men  sitting  beside  the 
road,  when  they  heard  that  lesous  is  passing  by,  shouted,  saying: 

"Master,  have  compassion  on  us,  son  of  David!" 

31  And  the  crowd  reproved  them,  that  they  should  be  silent; 
but  they  shouted  the  more,  sa3nng: 

"Master,  have  compassion  on  us,  son  of  David !" 

32  And  lesous  halted,  and  called  to  them,  and  said : 
"What  do  you  wish  I  should  do  to  you?" 

2,2,  They  say  to  him : 
"Master,  that  our  eyes  may  be  opened." 

34  And  lesous,  his  heart  being  stirred,  touched  their  eyes ;  and 
immediately  they  recovered  their  sight,  and  went  along  with  him. 

Chapter  xxi.  i-ii 

I  And  when  they  drew  near  to  Jerusalem,  and  came  to 
Bethphage,  towards  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  then  lesous 
sent  two  disciples,    2  saying  to  them: 

"Go  into  the  village  opposite  you,  and  immediately  you  will 
find  an  ass  tied,  and  with  her  a  colt.  Untie  [them]  and  bring 
[them]  to  me.  3  And  if  any  one  says  anything  to  you,  you  shall 
say,  'The  Master  has  need  of  them,  and  immediately  he  will 
send  them  [back].'" 

4  Now,  this  befell,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken 
through  the  prophet,  saying: 

5  "Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Siou, 
Behold  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee. 

Meek,  and  mounted  on  an  ass. 

And  a  colt,  the  foal  of  a  beast  of  burden." 

6  And  the  disciples  went  and  did  just  as  lesous  had  directed 


646  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

them,  7  and  brought  the  ass  and  the  coh,  and  put  their  cloaks 
on  them;  and  he  bestrode  them.  8  And  the  most  [of  the] 
crowd  strewed  their  cloaks  on  the  road;  but  others  were  cut- 
ting branches  from  the  trees,  and  were  strewing  them  on  the 
road.  9  And  the  crowds,  those  going  before  and  those  fol- 
lowing, kept  shouting,  saying: 

"Hosamia  to  the  son  of  David !  'Blessed  is  he  who  [is]  coming 
in  the  Master  s  name.'    Hosanna  in  the  highest  [heavens]  !" 

10  And  as  he  entered  into  Jerusalem,  all  the  city  was  put  in 
commotion,  saying : 

"Who  is  this?" 

1 1  And  the  crowds  said : 

"This  is  the  prophet  lesous,  who  [is]  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee." 

COMMENTARY 

This  "prophecy"  of  the  coming  of  lesous  is  fabricated  partly 
from  Isaiah  Ixii.  1 1  and  partly  from  Zechariah  ix.  9.  The  latter 
speaks  of  the  king  "riding  upon  an  ass,  even  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of 
an  ass,"  meaning  but  one  animal  and  not  two.  The  Ass  and  the 
Manger  are  in  the  sign  Cancer;  and  Aratos  {Dioscmeia,  160-176) 
speaks  of  two  Asses.  Possibly  Asellus  Borealis  and  Asellus 
Australis  are  to  be  understood  here ;  but  more  probably  the  forger 
who  inserted  the  "prophecy"  was  misled  by  the  poetical  language  of 
the  Hebrew  prophet. 

Ch.  XXI.  12-22 

12  And  lesous  entered  into  the  temple  [[of  God]]  and 
drove  out  all  those  selling  and  buying  in  the  temple,  and  over- 
turned the  tables  of  the  money-changers,  and  the  seats  of  those 
who  were  selling  the  doves.     13  And  he  says  to  them: 

"It  is  written,  'My  house  shall  he  called  a  house  of  prayer' ;  but 
you  are  making  it  'a  den  of  robbers.' " 

14  And  the  blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  temple,  and 
he  healed  them.  15  But  when  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes  saw 
the  wonders  which  he  wrought,  and  the  children  shouting  in  the 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  647 

temple  and  saying,  "Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David!"  they  were  in- 
dignant,    16  and  said  to  him: 

"Do  you  hear  what  these  are  saying?" 

And  lesous  says  to  them : 

"Yes ;  did  you  never  read,  'Out  of  the  mouths  of  infants  and  suck- 
lings thou  hast  prepared  praise' 1" 

17  And  he  left  them,  and  went  outside  the  city  to  Bethany 
and  passed  the  night  there,  [[and  taught  them  the  kingdom 
of  God]]. 

18  Now,  at  break  of  day,  as  he  was  coming  back  into  the 
city,  he  was  hungry.  19  And  seeing  a  lone  fig-tree  by  the 
road,  he  came  to  it,  and  found  nothing  on  it  but  leaves  only; 
and  he  says  to  it: 

"May  no  fruit  be  produced  from  thee  any  more  throughout 
the  aeon!" 

And  instantly  the  fig-tree  dried  up.  20  And  when  the  dis- 
ciples saw  it  they  wondered,  saying: 

"How  did  the  fig-tree  instantly  dry  up?" 

21  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  If  you  have  faith,  and  do  not  doubt, 
you  shall  not  only  cause  the  [drying-up]  of  the  fig-tree,  but 
even  if  you  should  say  to  this  mountain,  'Be  removed  and 
thrown  into  the  sea,'  it  shall  happen.  22  And  all  things  what- 
soever you  may  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  you  shall  receive." 

COMMENTARY 

Verses  14-16  are  obviously  forged  by  the  pen  of  a  priest,  who 
invented  the  implausible  incident  of  children  shouting  in  the  temple, 
basing  it  upon  a  quotation  from  the  Old  Testament. 

The  passage  about  "faith"  leads  up  to  the  "Lord's  prayer,"  and 
the  parallel  in  Mark  does  so  even  more  clearly.  But  the  prayer  is 
not  found  in  Mark;  in  Matthciv  it  is  transferred  to  the  "sermon  on 
the  mount" ;  and  in  Luke  it  is  placed  at  random  in  the  miscellaneous 
matter  constituting  the  so-called  periscope,  the  incident  of  the  fig- 
tree  being  omitted,  no  doubt  for  a  good  reason.  lesous  goes  to  the 
fig-tree  to  look  for  fruit  on  it  because  he  is  hungry,  and  the  "Lord's 


648  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

prayer"  contains  a  petition  for  food.  It  may  well  be  that  the  prayer 
itself,  like  the  fig-tree,  was  reminiscent  of  the  "pagan"  Mysteries, 
and  the  text  was  mutilated  in  order  to  conceal  the  fact. 

Ch,  XXI.  23-46 

23  And  when  he  came  into  the  temple  the  chief-priests  and 
the  elders  came  to  him  as  he  was  teaching,  and  said: 

"By  what  authority  are  you  doing  these  things?"  and,  "Who 
gave  you  this  authority?" 

24  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"I  also  shall  put  to  you  a  question  as  to  one  doctrine,  which 
if  you  tell  me,  I  also  will  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  doing 
these  things.  25  From  what  source  was  the  lustral-rite  of 
loannes — from  the  heaven-world  or  from  men?" 

And  they  argued  among  themselves,  saying: 

"Should  we  say,  'From  the  heaven-world,'  he  will  say  to  us, 
'Then  why  did  you  not  believe  him?'  26  But  should  we  say, 
'From  men,'  we  fear  the  crowd ;  for  all  hold  loannes  as  a  seer." 

27  And  they  answered  lesous  and  said: 

"We  do  not  know." 

He  also  said  to  them : 

"Neither  do  I  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  doing  these 
things.  28  But  what  is  your  opinion?  A  man  had  two  chil- 
dren; and  he  came  to  the  first  and  said: 

"  'Child,  go  work  to-day  in  my  vineyard.' 

29  "But  he  answered  and  said: 

"  'I  will  not.' 

"But  afterwards  he  repented  and  went.  30  And  he  came 
to  the  second,  and  said  to  him  likewise.  And  he  answered  and 
said: 

"'I  [will  go],  master.' 

"And  he  did  not  go.  3 1  Which  of  the  two  did  the  will  of  his 
father?" 

They  say  [[to  him]] : 

"The  first." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  649 

lesous  says  to  them: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  The  tax-collectors  and  the  prostitutes 
are  going  before  you  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  32  For 
loannes  came  to  you  in  the  path  of  morality,  and  you  did  not 
believe  him;  but  the  tax-collectors  and  the  prostitutes  did 
believe  him:  and  you,  when  you  saw  it,  did  not  even  repent 
afterwards,  that  you  might  believe  him.  t,t,  Hear  another 
allegory.  There  was  a  [[certain]]  man,  a  house-lord,  who 
'planted  a  vineyard,  and  placed  a  hedge  about  if,  and  dug  a  linnc 
vat  in  it,  and  built  a  toiver,'  and  leased  it  to  husbandmen,  and 
went  travelling  abroad.  34  And  when  the  season  of  the  fruits 
drew  near,  he  sent  his  slaves  to  the  husbandmen  to  receive  its 
fruits.  35  But  the  husbandmen  laid  hold  of  his  slaves,  and 
they  beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  pelted  another  with 
stones.  2)^  Again  he  sent  other  slaves  more  than  the  first,  and 
they  did  to  them  in  like  manner.  37  But  at  last  he  sent  to  them 
his  son,  saying,  'They  will  revere  my  son.'  38  But  the  husband- 
men, when  they  saw  the  son,  said  among  themselves: 

"  'This  is  the  heir ;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and  take  his  inheri- 
tance.' 

39  "And  they  laid  hold  of  him,  and  killed  him,  and  threw 
him  out  of  the  vineyard.  40  When,  therefore,  the  master  of 
the  vineyard  comes,  what  will  he  do  to  those  husbandmen?" 

41  They  say  to  him: 

"The  wretches !  He  will  wretchedly  destroy  them,  and  will 
lease  the  vineyard  to  other  husbandmen,  who  will  render  him 
the  fruits  in  their  seasons." 

42  lesous  says  to  them : 

"Did  you  never  read  in  the  scriptures : 

"  'The  stone  which  tJie  huihiers  rejected, 

The  same  has  become  the  head  of  the  corner; 
This  came  from  the  Master, 

And  it  is  wondrous  in  our  eyes'? 
43  For  this  reason  I  say  to  you,  The  kingdom  of  God  shall  be 
taken  from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  producing  the  fruits 


650  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  it.     [[44  And  he  who  falls  on  this  stone  shall  be  crushed  to- 
gether; but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  winnow  him.]]" 

45  And  when  the  chief-priests  and  the  Pharisees  heard  his 
allegories,  they  perceived  that  he  is  speaking  about  them.  46 
And  when  they  sought  to  seize  him,  they  feared  the  crowds, 
because  they  held  him  as  a  seer. 

COMMENTARY 

The  allegory  of  the  two  sons  is  peculiar  to  Matthew,  and  in  a 
variant  reading  of  it  the  first  son  says  he  will  go  to  the  vineyard, 
but  fails  to  do  so;  the  second  refuses,  but  changes  his  mind  and 
goes ;  and  the  answer  given  by  the  priests  is  therefore,  "The  sec- 
ond," instead  of  ''The  first." 

Both  these  allegories  relate  to  the  vineyard;  and  lesous  figures 
in  the  second  one  as  tlie  son  and  heir  of  the  "Lord  of  the  Vine- 
yard," which  is  a  title  of  Dionysos.  The  garbled  quotation  from  the 
Old  Testament  is  misapplied  as  well  as  distorted:  it  has  been 
crowded  into  the  text  in  the  effort  to  give  a  Jewish  coloring  to  the 
discourse  of  lesous.  The  words,  "This  is  Yahveh's  doing,"  are 
misquoted  as,  "This  is  from  the  Master" ;  and  the  stupid  statement 
is  made  that  any  one  who  falls  on  the  corner-stone  will  be  "crushed 
together,"  and  that  the  corner-stone  will  "winnow"  any  one  on 
whom  it  falls.  As  grapes  are  "crushed  together"  in  the  wine-press, 
and  grain  is  "winnowed,"  it  is  evident  that  the  forgers  have  sub- 
stituted the  Old  Testament  corner-stone  for  the  wine-press  and  the 
wunnowing-fan  of  the  Lord  Dionysos.  The  corner-stone  itself 
would  never  have  suggested,  save  to  the  forger's  fatuous  mind,  the 
processes  of  "crushing  together"  and  "winnowing,"  nor  would  any 
one  but  a  literary  bungler  thus  connect  a  corner-stone,  a  grind- 
stone or  a  millstone  with  an  allegory  of  a  vineyard.  Verse  44  is  an 
interpolation,  being  taken  from  Luke  xx.  18. 

Chapter  xxii.  1-14 

I  And  lesous  again  answered  and  spoke  in  allegories  to 
them,  saying: 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  651 

2  "The  kingdom  of  the  skies  has  been  likened  to  a  certain 
king  who  made  a  wedding-feast  for  his  son,  3  and  sent  his 
slaves  to  call  those  who  had  been  invited  to  the  wedding-feast ; 
and  they  would  not  come.  4  Again  he  sent  other  slaves,  say- 
ing: 

"  'Say  to  those  who  have  been  invited,  "Behold,  I  have  pre- 
pared my  banquet;  my  oxen  and  fatlings  are  slaughtered,  and 
all  things  are  ready:  come  to  the  wedding-feast." 

5  "But  they  slighted  [the  invitation],  and  went  away,  one  to 
his  own  farm,  another  to  his  traffic;  6  and  the  rest  laid  hold 
of  his  slaves,  maltreated  them,  and  killed  them.  7  But  the 
king  [  [when  he  heard  it]  ]  was  enraged ;  and  he  sent  his  armies, 
and  destroyed  those  murderers,  and  burned  their  city.  8  Then 
he  says  to  his  slaves: 

"  *The  wedding-banquet  is  ready,  but  those  who  were  in- 
vited were  not  worthy.  9  Go,  therefore,  to  the  cross-roads, 
and  as  many  as  you  shall  find,  invite  to  the  wedding-feast.' 

10  "And  those  slaves  went  out  into  the  highways,  and 
brought  together  all,  as  many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and 
good,  and  the  bride-chamber  was  filled  with  guests.  11  But 
when  the  king  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  beheld  there  a  man 
who  had  not  put  on  a  wedding-garment;  12  and  he  says  to 
him: 

"  'Comrade,  how  did  you  come  in  here  not  having  on  a  wed- 
ding-garment?' 

"And  he  was  speechless.  13  Then  the  king  said  to  the 
slaves : 

"'Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  [[and  take  him  away,]]  and 
throw  him  out  into  the  outer  darkness.' 

"In  that  place  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 
14  For  many  are  probationers,  but  few  are  those  who  are 
culled  out." 

COMMENTARY 

The  mystic  marriage  was  a  feature  of  the  Mysteries  of  Demeter, 
especially  as  celebrated  by  women  in  the  Thesmophoria.     In  this 


652  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

allegory  the  gathering  of  guests  from  the  cross-roads  is  a  pecu- 
liarly Greek  touch.  It  was  at  the  cross-roads,  the  place  where  three 
ways  met,  that  beggars  and  paupers  gathered  together  to  eat 
"Hekate's  feast,"  which  consisted  of  the  food  used  in  the  house- 
purifying  rites  of  Hekate.  For  lack  of  other  guests,  the  king  has 
these  poor  persons  brought  in  to  partake  of  the  wedding-feast. 
Obviously  the  rejected  guest  is  merely  sent  back  to  the  unsavory 
repast  at  the  cross-roads.  Between  this  conception,  strong  and 
beautiful,  and  that  of  the  "outer  darkness,"  where  there  is  "weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth,"  there  is  a  literary  gulf.  The  compiler  of 
Matthew  has  also  shown  poor  judgment  in  placing  this  allegory  of 
the  kingdom  with  the  two  allegories  of  the  vineyard,  and  in  making 
it  apply  to  the  "scribes  and  Pharisees."  Luke  places  it  in  the  chaotic 
periscope,  with  an  absurd  introduction,  but  with  a  more  reasonable 
ending  than  the  one  it  has  in  Mattheiv;  but  in  Luke  it  is  not  ex- 
pressly referred  to  the  kingdom,  while  in  Mattheiv  the  "kingdom" 
is  improperly  said  to  be  like  a  "king."  The  saying  concerning  the 
probationers — "the  called" — is  absurdly  dislocated;  it  is  theologized 
from  the  Bakchic  saying  quoted  by  Plato  (Phaidon,  p.  69),  "For 
'many,'  as  they  say  in  the  Mysteries,  'are  the  thyrsos-bearers,  but 
few  are  the  initiates.'  " 

Ch.  XXII.   15-33 

15  Then  the  Pharisees  went  and  consulted  how  they  might  en- 
snare him  in  doctrine.  16  And  they  sent  to  him  their  disciples, 
with  the  Herodians,  saying: 

"Teacher,  we  know  that  you  are  truthful,  and  teach  the  path  of 
God  in  truth,  and  are  not  concerned  about  any  one ;  for  you  do  not 
look  at  the  external  appearance  of  men.  17  Tell  us  therefore, 
What  is  your  opinion?  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  or 
not?" 

18  But  lesous,  knowing  their  knavery,  said: 

"Why  do  you  put  me  to  a  test,  you  dissemblers?  19  Show  me 
the  tribute-coin." 

And  they  brought  to  him  a  denarius.     20  And  he  says  to  them: 

"Whose  is  this  image  and  inscription  ?" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  653 

21  They  say  to  him  : 
"Csesar's." 

Then  he  says  to  them : 

"Render,  therefore,  to  CcTsar  the  tilings  (hie  to  Caesar,  and  to 
God  the  things  due  to  God." 

22  And  when  they  heard  it  they  regarded  [him]  with  admira- 
tion, and  left  him,  and  went  away. 

23  On  that  day  there  came  to  him  Sadducees  (who  say  there  is 
no  resurrection),  and  they  put  to  him  a  question,     24  saying: 

"Teacher,  Moses  said,  'If  any  one  should  die,  not  having  children, 
his  brother  shall  enter  into  ajfinity  zcith  his  ivife,  and  raise  up  seed 
to  his  brother.'  25  Now,  there  were  with  us  seven  brothers:  and 
the  first  married  and  deceased,  and,  having  no  seed,  left  his  wife  to 
his  brother ;  26  and  in  like  manner  the  second  also,  and  the  third, 
up  to  the  seven.  2y  And  last  of  all  the  woman  died.  28  In  the 
resurrection,  then,  of  which  one  of  the  seven  will  she  be  the  wife? 
For  they  all  had  her." 

29  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"You  are  mistaken,  not  knowing  the  scriptures  or  the  power 
of  God.  30  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry  nor  are 
given  in  marriage,  but  are  like  the  Divinities  in  the  skies.  31 
But,  in  reference  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  you  not 
read  what  was  spoken  to  you  by  God,  saying,  32  'The  God  of 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  am  /'?  God 
is  not  [[the  God]]  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living." 

33  And  when  the  crowds  heard  it,  they  were  astounded  at  his 
teaching. 

COMMENTARY 

The  compiler  of  Matthew,  to  whom  the  subject  of  levirate  mar- 
riages was  an  unfamiliar  one,  must  have  been  reading  about  it  in 
the  Septuagint,  whence  he  derived  the  Jewish  and  un-Hellenic 
meaning  for  the  verb  epiganibreuein;  for  he  uses  it  in  the  same  sense 
which  is  given  it  in  that  Greek  translation  of  the  Hebrew  scrip- 
tures. The  revised  version  renders  it  here,  as  likewise  the  Hebrew 
word  for  which  it  stands  in  Genesis  xviii.  8,  "to  perform  the  duties 


654  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

of  a  husband's  brother."  But  the  compiler's  exhaustive  study  of 
the  Hebrew  writings  (in  their  Greek  dress)  failed  to  unearth  any 
better  evidence  that  the  ancient  Jews  believed  in  a  future  life  than 
the  assertion  that  Yahveh  is  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob. 
Later  theologians  have  hardly  been  more  successful;  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  in  the  Mosaic  law  there  is  no  reference  to  a  future  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments.  The  "argument"  here  placed  in  the 
mouth  of  lesous  is  as  absurd  as  is  the  statement  that  the  Sadducees 
did  not  know  their  own  scriptures.  The  "crowds"  might  well  be 
astounded  at  the  teaching  of  this  pseudo-Iesous,  especially  when 
he  states  that  because  a  denarius  had  the  image  and  inscription  of 
Caesar  stamped  upon  it,  it  should  be  rendered  to  Caesar  as  tribute. 

Cn.  XXII.  34-40 

34  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  that  he  had  silenced 
the  Sadducees,  came  together  to  him.  35  And  one  of  them,  a 
lawyer,  put  to  him  a  question,  testing  him,  [[and  saying]]  : 

36  "Teacher,  which  [is  the]  great  commandment  in  the 
law?" 

^y  And  he  said  to  him: 

"  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  Master-God  ivith  oil  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.'  38  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment.  39  And  there  is  a  second  like  it,  *Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'  40  On  these  two  command- 
ments hang  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Sadducees  having  been  "silenced"  by  the  merest  pretence  of 
an  argument,  a  Pharisee  versed  in  the  Mosaic  law  is  now  given  an 
opportunity  to  confute  lesous.  But  according  to  Mark  this  learned 
scribe  attempts  nothing  of  the  sort;  on  the  contrary,  he  approves 
of  the  answers  lesous  has  given  the  Sadducees,  and  in  good  faith 
asks  him  a  sensible  question,  the  result  being  that  at  the  close  of 
their  mutual  inquiry  lesous  says  to  him,  "You  are  not  far  from 
the  kingdom  of  God."  The  compiler  of  Matthezv  invariably  holds 
the  Pharisees  up  for  execration   (though  he  probably  never  saw 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  655 

one  in  his  life  and  had  only  hazy  notions  as  to  who  they  were), 
and  he  could  not  allow  this  warm  commendation  of  a  Pharisee  to 
stand.  He  has  therefore  struck  it  out,  thereby  making  the  story 
utterly  pointless :  in  his  version  of  it,  it  has  a  false  beginning  and 
no  ending. 

Ch.  XXII.  41-46 

41  Now,  while  the  Pharisees  were  assembled  together,  lesous 
put  to  them  a  question,    42  saying : 

"What  is  your  opinion  concerning  the  Anointed — whose  son  is 
he?" 

They  say  to  him : 

"David's  [son]." 

43  He  says  to  them  : 

"Then  how  does  David,  [speaking]  in  the  Breath,  call  him  'Mas- 
ter,' saying: 

44  'The  Master  said  to  my  Master, 
"Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand. 

Until  I  place  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet"  '? 
45  H  David,  then,  calls  him  'Master,'  how  is  he  his  son?" 

46  And  no  one  was  able  to  give  him  an  answer  as  to  the  doctrine, 
nor  did  any  one  presume,  from  that  day,  to  put  to  him  questions  any 
more. 

COMMENTARY 

Judging  by  the  answers  made  by  lesous,  as  here  recorded  in  Mat- 
theiv,  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  ceased  to  ask  him  questions,  not 
because  of  his  controversial  ability,  but  because  they  were  weary  of 
listening  to  inanities  and  of  hearing  their  sacred  scriptures  mis- 
quoted from  a  Greek  translation. 

Chapter  xxiii.   1-36 

I   Then  lesous  spoke  to  the  crowds  and  to  his  disciples,    2  saying : 

"The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  are  seated  on  the  seat  of 

Moses;     3  therefore  practise  and  observe  all  things  v^^hatever 

they  may  tell  you;  but  do  not  practise  after  their  works,  for 


656  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

they  prate  and  do  not  practise.  4  And  they  tie  up  heavy  bur- 
dens [[and  grievous  to  be  borne]],  and  put  them  on  men's 
shoulders;  but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with  their 
fingers.  5  But  all  their  works  they  practise  to  be  seen  by  men : 
for  they  make  broad  their  prayer-fillets,  and  enlarge  the  hems 
[[of  their  cloaks]],  6  and  love  the  foremost  place  at  dinners 
and  the  front  seats  in  the  synagogues,  7  and  the  salutations 
in  the  market-places,  and  to  be  called  by  men  Rabbi.  8  But  be 
you  not  called  Rabbi;  for  one  is  your  teacher,  [[the  Anointed,]] 
and  all  of  you  are  brothers.  9  And  do  not  call  any  one  your  father 
on  the  earth  ;  for  one  is  your  Father,  the  celestial  [one].  10  Neither 
be  you  called  leaders ;  for  one  is  your  leader,  the  Anointed.  1 1  But 
the  older  of  you  shall  be  your  servant.  12  And  whoever  shall  exalt 
himself  shall  be  humbled,  and  whoever  shall  humble  himself  shall 
be  exalted. 

"[[14  Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  For 
you  devour  widows'  houses,  even  while  in  pretence  you  pray 
at  great  length;  for  this  reason  you  shall  receive  a  more  severe 
sentence.]]  13  Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites ! 
For  you  shut  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  before  men :  for  you  do 
not  enter  in  yourselves,  nor  do  you  permit  those  who  are  en- 
tering in  to  enter. 

15  "Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  For  you 
traverse  sea  and  dry  land  to  make  one  convert;  and  when  he  has 
become  [converted],  you  make  him  twofold  more  a  son  of  Hinnom- 
valley  than  yourselves. 

16  "Woe  to  you,  blind  guides,  who  say,  'Whoever  shall  swear 
by  the  sanctuary,  it  is  nothing,  but  whoever  shall  swear  by  the  gold 
of  the  sanctuary,  he  is  bound  [to  keep  his  oath].'  17  Fools  and 
blind  men !  For  which  is  greater,  the  gold,  or  the  sanctuary  which 
has  sanctified  the  gold?  18  x\nd  [you  say],  'Whoever  shall  swear 
by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing,  but  whoever  shall  swear  by  the  offering 
that  is  upon  it,  he  is  bound  [to  keep  his  oath].'  19  [[Fools  and]] 
blind  men !  For  which  is  greater,  the  offering,  or  the  altar  which 
sanctifies  the  offering?  20  Therefore  he  who  swears  by  the  altar 
swears  by  it,  and  by  all  the  things  that  are  upon  it.     21  And  he 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  657 

who  swears  by  the  sanctuary  swears  by  it,  and  by  the  [God]  dwell- 
ing in  it.  22  And  he  who  swears  by  the  sky,  swears  by  the  throne 
of  God,  and  by  that  [God]  sitting  upon  it. 

23  "Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  For  you 
pay  tithes  of  mint,  and  anise  and  cummin,  and  you  have  left 
undone  the  w^eightier  [matters]  of  the  law%  judgment,  and 
mercy  and  faith.  (But  these  you  ought  to  have  done,  and  not 
to  have  left  those  [undone].)  24  Blind  guides,  who  filter  out 
the  gnat,  and  gulp  down  the  camel! 

25  "Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  For  you 
cleanse  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  dish,  but  within  they 
are  full  of  rapacity  and  licentiousness.  26  Blind  Pharisee, 
cleanse  first  the  inside  of  the  cup  [[and  of  the  dish]],  that  the 
outside   [[of  them]]  may  become  clean  also. 

27  "Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  For  you 
are  like  stuccoed  burial-vaults,  which  outwardly  appear  beau- 
tiful, but  within  are  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  utter  filth.  28 
Thus  also  you  appear  virtuous  to  men,  but  inw^ardly  you  are 
full  of  hypocrisy  and  lawlessness. 

29  "Woe  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  For  you 
build  the  burial-vaults  of  the  seers,  and  decorate  the  monu- 
ments of  the  virtuous,  30  and  say,  'If  we  had  lived  in  the  days 
of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been  their  accomplices  in 
[shedding]  the  blood  of  the  seers.'  31  So  that  you  are  bearing 
witness  to  yourselves  that  you  are  the  sons  of  the  murderers 
of  the  seers.  7,2  Fill  ye  up,  then,  the  measure  of  your  fathers ! 
33  You  snakes,  you  brood  of  vipers,  how  shall  you  escape  from 
the  judgment  of  Hinnom-valley  ?  34  For  this  reason,  behold, 
I  am  sending  to  you  seers,  and  learned  men,  and  scribes ;  some 
of  them  you  wall  kill  and  crucify,  and  some  of  them  you  will 
scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  chase  from  city  to  city;  35 
that  upon  you  may  come  all  the  virtuous  blood  shed  on  the 
earth,  from  the  blood  of  the  virtuous  Abel  to  the  blood  of  Zach- 
ariah  (son  of  Barachiah),  whom  you  murdered  between  the 
sanctuary  and  the  altar.  36  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  All  these 
things  shall  come  upon  this  age. 


658  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  compiler  has  endeavored  to  sum  up  in  one  discourse  all 
the  immoralities  of  the  detested  Pharisees;  and  in  collecting  invec- 
tives for  this  diatribe  he  has  robbed  other  portions  of  the  text.  The 
parallel  passage  in  Mark  consists  of  but  a  single  sentence,  which  is 
copied  verbatim  in  Luke,  with  nothing  added,  though  some  of  the 
denunciations  are  given  in  the  periscope.  But  verse  14  is  not  found 
in  the  oldest  manuscripts;  in  some  of  the  later  manuscripts  it  is 
placed  after,  and  in  others  before,  verse  13:  apparently  later  inter- 
polators, noticing  that  the  compiler  of  Mattheiv  had  inadvertently 
omitted  this  caustic  rebuke  of  the  prayerful  but  house-devouring 
Pharisees  (which  is  found  in  Mark  xii.  40  and  Luke  xx.  47),  took 
it  upon  themselves  to  correct  the  oversight. 

The  few  virile  sentences  in  the  discourse  belong  elsewhere  in  the 
text,  and  the  bulk  of  it  is  evidently  the  work  of  an  amateur  writer 
with  an  infertile  intellect  and  a  halting  pen.  Even  the  few  sentences 
that  may  be  regarded  as  genuine  are  marred  by  the  unskilful  for- 
ger :  a  sightless  "guide"  would  not  be  apt  to  strain  out  a  gnat ;  and 
the  cup  and  dish  could  not  be  full  of  rapacity  and  licentiousness,  nor 
does  the  outside  of  them  become  clean  because  the  inside  has  been 
washed.  Confused  metaphors  may  not  be  inconsistent  with  the 
theological  theory  of  divine  inspiration;  but  the  reference  to  "Zach- 
ariah"  and  his  martyrdom  can  not  be  dismissed  so  lightly.  The 
Zechariah  who  was  stoned  to  death  in  the  court  of  Yahveh's  house 
was  the  son  of  Jehoiada  (II  Chronicles  xxiv.  20,  21),  while  Zech- 
ariah the  son  of  Barachiah  {Zechariah  i.  i)  was  one  of  the  minor 
prophets.  Confusing  metaphors  is  more  pardonable  than  mixing 
up  historical  characters.  The  form  of  statement,  from  Abel  to 
Zachariah,  shows  clearly  that  the  son  of  Jehoiada  was  meant,  for 
Abel  is  the  first  martyr  mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  Zechariah 
the  last,  the  phrase  being  thus  intended  to  include  all  the  martyrs 
therein  recorded.  But  scriptural  apologists  whose  imagination 
sometimes  soars  beyond  the  confines  of  sober  judgment  have  sought 
to  identify  this  Zachariah  with  the  father  of  loannes  the  "baptist," 
and  even  with  a  certain  Zachariah  who  was  slain,  according  to 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  659 

Josephus,  "in  the  middle  of  the  temple" ;  but  as  this  latter  Zacha- 
riah  was  the  son  of  Baruch,  and  was  slain  over  thirty  years  after 
the  date  assigned  to  the  crucifixion  of  lesous,  the  "explanation"  is 
interesting'  only  as  an  example  of  the  desperate  but  futile  devices 
often  employed  by  orthodox  exeg"etists  when  hard  pushed  to  ex- 
plain away  glaring  errors  found  in  the  "inspired"  writings. 

Ch.  XXIII.  37-39 

37  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  who  killest  the  seers  and  ston- 
est  those  who  are  sent  to  her !  How  often  would  I  have  gath- 
ered thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathers  her  nestlings 
under  her  wings — and  ye  would  not!  38  Behold,  'your  house  is 
left  to  you  [[desolate]].'  39  For  I  say  to  you,  You  shall  not  see 
me  henceforth  until  you  say,  'Blessed  is  he  who  is  coming  in  the 
Master's  name.' " 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  erenios,  "desolate,"  in  verse  38,  is  a  later  interpolation, 
as  also  in  Luke  xiii.  35  :  without  the  word,  the  sentence  would  mean, 
"Your  house  is  abandoned  to  you."  It  is  not  quoted  from  the  Old 
Testament,  but  is  supposed  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  prophetic  threats 
that  Jerusalem  would  eventually  meet  with  misfortune.  If  taken  in 
a  "historical"  sense,  the  words  in  verse  39  would  quench  all  hope 
that  lesous  would  ever  revisit  Jerusalem ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  that 
city  are  not  Christians,  while  Christianity  is  waning,  and  the  Jews 
emphatically  reject  it. 

Chapter  xxiv 

I  And  lesous  went  out  from  the  temple,  and  was  going 
away;  and  his  disciples  came  to  him  to  point  out  to  him  the 
buildings  of  the  temple.    2  But  he  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Do  you  not  see  all  these  things?  Amen,  I  say  to  you.  There 
shall  not  be  left  here  a  stone  upon  [another]  stone,  which  shall 
not  be  thrown  down." 

3  And  as  he  was  sitting  on  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees, 
the  disciples  came  to  him  privately,  saying : 


66o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Tell  VIS,  when  shall  these  things  be,  and  what  shall  be  the 
sign  of  your  Presence  and  of  the  company  [of  the  perfect]  of 
the  aeon?" 

4  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Beware  lest  any  one  should  mislead  you.  5  For  many  will 
come  in  my  name,  saying,  'I  am  the  Anointed,'  and  they  will 
mislead  many.  6  And  you  shall  be  hearing  of  wars  and  rumors 
of  wars ;  look  you,  do  not  be  terrified :  for  it  must  inevitably 
happen,  but  the  completion  is  not  yet.  7  1^'or  'nation  shall  rise 
against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kiiigdoni' ;  and  there  shall  be 
famines  [[and  pestilences]]  and  earthquakes,  according  to  the 
places.  8  Now,  all  these  things  are  the  beginnings  of  the 
throes-of-birth.  9  Then  they  shall  hand  you  over  to  an  ordeal, 
and  shall  kill  you;  and  you  shall  l)e  hated  l)y  all  nations  on  ac- 
count of  my  name.  10  And  then  many  shall  1)e  tripped  up,  and 
shall  hand  one  another  over,  and  hate  one  another.  11  And 
many  pretended  seers  shall  arise,  and  shall  mislead  many.  12 
And  because  lawlessness  shall  be  increased,  the  love  of  the 
many  shall  grow  cold.  13  But  he  who  remains  constant  until 
the  completion,  he  shall  be  saved.  14  And  these  good  tidings 
of  the  kingdom  shall  be  proclaimed  in  the  whole  inhabited 
world  for  a  testimony  to  all  the  nations;  and  then  the  comple- 
tion shall  come. 

15  "When,  therefore,  you  shall  see  'the  desolating  abomination/ 
which  was  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  seer,  standing  in  the  sacred  place 
(let  the  reader  take  notice),  16  then  let  those  who  are  in  Judaea 
flee  to  the  mountains;  17  and  let  him  who  is  on  the  housetop  not 
come  down  to  take  the  things  out  of  his  house ;  18  and  let  him  who 
is  in  the  field  not  return  back  to  take  his  cloak.  19  But  woe  to  preg- 
nant women  and  to  women  with  babe  at  breast  in  those  days !  20 
And  pray  that  your  flight  may  not  take  place  in  winter,  nor  on  a 
sabbath:  21  for  then  there  shall  be  'a  great  ordeal,  such  as  the  like 
has  not  happened  from  the  foundation  of  the  zvorld  until  now,'  no, 
nor  ever  shall  happen  at  all.  22  And  unless  those  days  had  been 
cut  short,  not  an  embodied  being  would  have  been  saved;  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  select  those  days  shall  be  shortened.    2t,  Then 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  66i 

if  any  one  shall  say  to  you,  'Behold,  here  is  the  Anointed !'  or, 
*Here !'  do  not  believe  [him].  24  For  pretended  Anointeds  and 
pretended  seers  will  arise,  and  'mill  give  great  signs  and  zvonders,' 
so  as  to  mislead,  if  possible,  even  the  select.  25  Behold,  I  have 
foretold  [it]  to  you.  26  If,  therefore,  they  shall  say  to  you, 
'Behold,  he  is  in  the  desert,'  do  not  go  forth;  'Behold,  he  is  in 
the  treasure-vaults,'  do  not  believe  [them].  27  For  as  the 
lightning  comes  forth  from  the  east  and  is  visible  even  to  the 
west,  so  shall  be  the  Presence  of  the  Son  of  man.  28  For  wher- 
ever the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together. 

29  "But  immediately  after  the  ordeal  of  those  days  'the  sun  shall 
be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars 
shall  fall  from  the  sky,  and  the  powers  which  arc  in  the  skies  shall 
be  shaken.'  30  And  then  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  visible 
in  the  sky ;  and  then  'all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  zvail,'  and  they 
shall  see  'the  Son  of  man  coming  on  the  clouds  of  the  sky'  with 
power  and  great  glory.  31  And  he  shall  send  his  Divinities 
'zmth  a  great  [  [sound  of]  ]  a  trumpet/  and  'they  shall  gather'  his 
select  'from  the  four  winds,  from  the  highest  to  the  lozcest  [re- 
gions] of  the  skies.' 

32  "Now  from  the  fig-tree  understand  the  allegory:  when 
her  branch  has  already  become  tender,  and  puts  forth  leaves, 
you  know  that  summer  is  near;  33  so  you  also,  when  you  see 
all  these  things,  know  that  [the  kingdom]  is  near,  [right]  at 
the  doors.  34  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  This  generation  shall  not  at 
all  pass  away  until  all  these  things  shall  have  happened.  35  The 
sky  and  the  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  arcane  doctrines  shall 
not  pass  away.  36  But  as  regards  that  day  and  hour,  no  one 
knows,  not  even  the  Divinities  of  the  skies,  nor  yet  the  Son 
(except  the  Father).  37  For  precisely  as  the  days  of  Noah 
[were],  so  shall  be  the  Presence  of  the  Son  of  man.  38  For  as 
in  [[those]]  days  which  were  before  the  deluge  they  were 
eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until 
the  day  when  Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  39  and  they  did  not 
know  until  the  deluge  came  and  took  them  all  away;  so  shall 
be  the  Presence  of  the  Son  of  man.    40  Then  shall  two  [men] 


662  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

be  in  the  field;  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left:  41  two  [women 
shall  be]  grinding  at  the  mill;  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left.  42 
Watch,  therefore,  for  you  do  not  know  on  what  day  your  Mas- 
ter is  coming.  43  But  know  this,  that  if  the  house-lord  had 
known  in  what  hour  the  thief  is  coming,  he  would  have 
watched,  and  would  not  have  let  his  house  be  broken  into.  44 
For  this  reason  also  do  you  get  ready;  for  at  an  hour  you  do 
not  expect  [him]  the  Son  of  man  is  coming.  45  Who,  then,  is 
the  faithful  and  prudent  slave,  whom  the  master  has  set  over 
his  household,  to  give  them  food  in  due  season?  46  Blessed 
is  that  slave  whom  his  master,  having  come,  shall  find  doing 
thus.  47  Amen,  I  say  to  you.  He  will  set  him  over  all  his  pos- 
sessions. 48  But  if  that  wicked  slave  should  say  in  his  heart, 
'My  master  is  delaying,'  49  and  should  begin  to  beat  his  fel- 
low-slaves, and  should  eat  and  drink  with  the  drunkards,  50 
the  master  of  that  slave  will  come  on  a  day  in  which  he  is  not 
looking  for  [him],  and  at  an  hour  which  he  does  not  know,  51 
and  shall  cut  him  in  two,  and  shall  assign  his  portion  with  the 
hypocrites:  in  that  place  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth. 

COMMENTARY 

The  men  who  turned  a  Greek  allegory  of  the  Sun-God  into  a 
pseudo-historical  narrative  of  a  Jewish  Messiah  knew  full  well  that 
their  story  had  not  the  slightest  historical  foundation.  They  were 
shameless  forgers,  deliberately  writing  falsehoods,  and  were  not 
themselves  deceived  into  believing  that  there  was  any  historical 
truth  in  the  lesous-mythos.  Religious  ecstatics,  neurotic  visionaries, 
psychically  intoxicated  mystics,  fanatics  with  disordered  mentality, 
and  morbid  and  unbalanced  individuals  who,  having  strayed  out- 
side the  bounds  of  reason  and  sanity,  imagine  themselves  to  be 
prophets  and  seers,  may  attempt,  with  sincere  belief  and  innocent 
motives,  to  promulgate  fantastic  doctrines  as  divine  revelations,  and 
to  inflict  new  and  unwholesome  religions  upon  mankind.  But  the 
men  who  fabricated  the  Synoptics  were,  as  shown  by  the  methods 
employed  in   falsifying  the  pagan  allegory,  and  the  dull  literary 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  663 

quality  of  the  forged  passages,  merely  sordid  priests  of  the  class 
that  with  low  cunning  and  greasy  sanctimony  deceive  and  prey  upon 
the  ignorant  and  credulous  masses.  They  were  not  self-deluded 
religious  enthusiasts,  but  cold  and  calculating  priestly  charlatans. 
In  their  colorless  literary  effusions  there  is  no  genuine  emotional 
warmth,  no  psychic  frenzy,  no  wild  plunging  of  an  unbridled  im- 
agination. Even  the  plea  of  religious  insanity  can  not  be  advanced 
in  their  defence.  They  were  simply  priests  methodically  working 
up  a  scheme  to  retain  their  hold  on  the  people — priests  of  the  same 
type  as  the  Roman  augurs,  who,  as  Cicero  said,  had  to  thrust  their 
tongue  in  their  cheeks  to  keep  from  laughing  when  they  passed  each 
other  on  the  streets.  They  were  quite  sane,  and  they  certainly  did 
not  believe  that  their  anthropomorphized  Sun-God  would  return  at 
the  end  of  the  aeon  or  at  any  other  time.  The  "prophecy"  was  in- 
tended only  for  the  "believers,"  the  ignorant  dupes,  and  not  for  the 
priests  themselves,  who  soberly  followed  their  dignified  occupation, 
profiting  financially  by  playing  on  the  hopes  and  fears  of  their  fol- 
lowers. 

Chapter  xxv.  1-13 

I  "Then  shall  the  kingdom  of  the  skies  be  likened  to  ten 
maidens,  who  took  their  torches  and  went  forth  to  meet  the 
bridegroom.  2  And  five  of  them  were  heedless,  and  five  were 
prudent.  3  For  the  heedless  [maidens],  when  they  took  their 
torches,  did  not  take  oil  with  them;  4  but  the  prudent 
[maidens]  took  oil  in  cruets  with  their  torches.  5  Now,  when 
the  bridegroom  kept  delaying,  they  all  became  drowsy  and  fell 
asleep.    6  But  at  midnight  a  cry  arose : 

"  'Behold,  the  bridegroom  [  [is  coming]  ]  !  Go  forth  to  meet 
[him].' 

7  "Then  all  those  maidens  arose,  and  put  their  torches  in 
order.    8  And  the  heedless  [maidens]  said  to  the  prudent: 
"  'Give  us  [some]  of  your  oil;  for  our  torches  are  going  out.' 
9  "But  the  prudent  maidens  answered  and  said: 
"  'No ;  there  may  not  be  enough  for  us  and  for  you ;  better  go 
to  the  dealers  and  buy  [oil]  for  yourselves.' 


664  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

lo  "And  while  they  went  away  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  came ; 
and  those  who  were  ready  went  in  with  him  to  the  wedding- 
feast  ;  and  the  door  was  shut.  1 1  But  afterwards  came  also  the 
other  maidens,  saying: 

"  'Master,  open  to  us.' 

12  "But  he  answered  and  said: 

"  'Amen,  I  say  to  you,  I  do  not  know  you.' 

13  "Watch,  therefore,  for  you  do  not  know  the  day  nor  the  hour 
[  [in  which  the  Son  of  man  is  coming.]] 

COMMENTARY 

The  charming  allegory  of  the  maidens  and  their  torches  brings 
before  the  mind  a  scene  that  is  peculiarly  Hellenic.  It  was  custom- 
ary among  the  Greeks  for  a  band  of  men  or  maidens  thus  to  greet 
the  bridegroom.  The  allegory  has  no  Jewish  color,  and  it  has  no 
more  application  to  the  theological  fiction  of  the  second  advent  than 
have  the  other  allegories  of  the  kingdom.  In  the  conception  of  the 
originators  of  the  cult  that  kingdom  is  a  material  one,  to  be  estab- 
lished on  earth  when  lesous  returns  from  the  sky  to  confer  eternal 
bliss  upon  all  who  blindly  believe  in  priestly  fables  and  keep  up  a 
steady  rain  of  coin  into  the  temple-treasury,  and  to  banish  all  dis- 
believers into  the  outer  darkness  that  resounds  with  the  dental  music 
of  the  damned. 

Ch.  XXV.  14-30 

14  "For  [it  is]  just  as  [if]  a  man,  going  to  travel  abroad,  called 
his  own  slaves,  and  handed  over  to  them  his  possessions.  15  And 
to  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to  another  two,  to  another  one ;  to  each 
according  to  his  respective  ability;  and  he  went  travelling  abroad. 
16  And  immediately  he  who  received  the  five  talents  went  into  busi- 
ness with  them,  and  gained  five  other  talents.  17  In  the  same  way 
he  also  who  [received]  the  two  gained  two  others.  18  But  he  who 
received  the  one  went  away  and  dug  in  the  earth,  and  hid  his  mas- 
ter's money.  19  And  after  a  long  time  the  master  of  those  slaves 
comes,  and  adjusts  accounts  with  them.  20  And  he  who  received 
the  five  talents  came  and  brought  him  the  other  five  talents,  saying : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  665 

"  'Master,  you  handed  over  to  me  five  talents.  Behold,  I  have 
gained  five  other  talents.' 

21  "His  master  said  to  him  : 

"  'Well  done !  Good  and  faithful  slave,  you  have  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things ;  I  shall  set  you  over  many  things.  Enter  into  the 
joy  of  your  master.' 

22  "And  he  who  [received]  the  two  talents  came  and  said: 

"  'Master,  you  handed  over  to  me  two  talents.  Behold,  I  have 
gained  two  other  talents.' 

23  "His  master  said  to  him : 

"'Well  done!  Good  and  faithful  slave,  you  have  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things ;  I  shall  set  you  over  many  things.  Enter  into  the 
joy  of  your  master.' 

24  "And  he  who  had  received  the  one  talent  came  to  him  and 
said : 

"  'Master,  I  knew  you,  that  you  are  a  harsh  man,  reaping  where 
you  did  not  sow,  and  gathering  where  you  did  not  scatter ;  25  and 
being  afraid,  I  went  away  and  hid  your  talent  in  the  earth.  Behold, 
you  retain  your  own.' 

26  "But  his  master  answered  and  said  to  him : 

"  'You  worthless  and  indolent  slave,  you  knew  that  I  reap  where 
I  did  not  sow,  and  gather  where  I  did  not  scatter;  27  therefore  you 
ought  to  have  deposited  my  money  with  the  bankers,  and  when  I 
came  I  should  have  recovered  my  own  with  usury.  28  Therefore 
take  the  talent  away  from  him,  and  give  it  to  him  who  has  the  ten 
talents.  (29  For  to  every  one  who  has  shall  be  given,  and  he 
shall  be  in  abundance  ;  but  from  him  who  has  not  shall  be  taken 
away  even  that  which  he  has.)  30  And  throw  the  unprofitable 
slave  into  the  outer  darkness;  in  that  place  there  shall  be  weep- 
ing and  gnashing  of  teeth.' 

COMMENTARY 

The  tale  of  the  talents  is  not  a  true  allegory,  but  only  a  shabby 
imitation  of  an  allegory  in  which  the  Son  of  man  is  likened  to  a 
brutal  slave-owner  who  is  a  thief  and  usurer.  It  is  based  upon  the 
opening  words  of  Mark  xiii.  34,  which  it  copies,  even  reproducing 


666  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  lacuna,  with  tlie  fidehty  of  the  Chinaman  w  ho,  using  an  old  pair 
of  trousers  for  a  pattern,  put  a  ])atch  in  the  seat  of  the  new  pair. 
In  Mark  the  slaves  are  given  "authority"  and  have  their  "work" 
laid  out  for  them ;  in  Matthciv  this  suggestion  of  "work"  has  been 
expanded  into  the  "allegory"  of  the  talents,  each  of  the  slaves  being 
started  in  business  with  a  sum  of  money.  The  Attic  talent  was 
worth  a  little  over  $i,ooo;  the  Jewish  talent  of  silver  equalled 
$2,000,  and  the  talent  of  gold,  $30,000:  the  forgers  are  invariably 
generous  in  their  allowance  of  imaginary  money,  but  it  seems  proba- 
ble that  the  author  of  tlic  "allegory,"  not  being  a  Jew,  had  in  mind 
the  Attic  talent.  In  Luke  the  suggestion  of  "authority"  is  further 
elaborated  by  making  the  slave-master  a  king  who  rewards  his 
faithful  slaves  by  appointing  them  governors  of  cities. 

Ch.  XXV.  31-46 

31  "But  when  the  Son  of  man  comes  in  his  glory,  and  all  the 
[[holy]]  Divinities  with  him,  then  he  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of 
his  glory;  32  and  before  him  all  the  nations  will  be  gathered, 
and  he  will  separate  them  from  one  another,  just  as  a  shepherd 
separates  the  sheep  from  the  goats;  33  and  he  will  set  the 
sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  34  Then  the 
King  will  say  to  those  on  his  right  hand : 

"  'Come,  you  who  are  praised  by  my  Father,  inherit  the  king- 
dom made  ready  for  you  from  the  beginning  of  the  world:  35 
for  I  was  hungry,  and  you  gave  me  to  eat;  I  was  thirsty,  and 
you  gave  me  to  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  you  entertained 
me ;  36  naked,  and  you  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick,  and  you  visited 
me ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  you  came  to  me.' 

37  "Then  the  virtuous  will  answer  him,  saying : 
"  'Master,  when  did  we  see  you  hungering,  and  fed  you,  or 
thirsting,  and  gave  you  drink?    38  And  when  did  we  see  you  a 
stranger,  and  entertained  you,  or  naked,  and  clothed  you?     39 
And  when  did  we  see  you  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  to  you?' 
40  "And  the  King  will  answer  and  say  to  them : 
"  'Amen,  I  say  to  you.  Inasmuch  as  you  did  it  to  one  of  these 
my  brothers,  the  very  little  ones,  you  did  it  to  me.' 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  66; 

41  "Then  he  will  say  also  to  those  on  the  left  hand : 
"  'Depart  from  me,  ye  accursed,  into  the  aeonian  fire  which 
has  been  made  ready  for  the  Accuser  and  his  Divinities:  42 
for  I  was  hungry,  and  you  did  not  give  me  to  eat ;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  you  did  not  give  me  to  drink;  43  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
you  did  not  entertain  me;  naked,  and  you  did  not  clothe  me; 
sick,  and  in  prison,  and  you  did  not  visit  me.' 

44  "Then  they  also  will  answer  him,  saying: 

"  'Master,  when  did  we  see  you  hungering,  or  thirsting,  or  a 
stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  serve 
you?' 

45  "Then  he  will  answer  them,  saying : 

"  'Amen,  I  say  to  you.  Inasmuch  as  you  did  not  do  it  to  one 
of  these  very  little  ones,  you  did  not  do  it  to  me.' 

46  "And  these  shall  go  away  into  aeonian  chastisement;  but 
the  virtuous  [shall  enter]  into  aeonian  life." 

COMMENTARY 

This  version  of  the  last  judgment  has  its  parallel  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, but  is  not  in  Mark  or  Luke.  It  is  not  very  forcibly  written, 
and  it  may  be  only  a  later  addition  to  the  text;  but  the  allegory 
would  be  incomplete  without  it,  so  that  it  is  genuine  in  substance. 

Chapter  xxvi.  1-19 

1  And  it  befell  that  when  lesous  had  finished  [teaching]  all  these 
arcane  doctrines,  he  said  to  his  disciples : 

2  "You  know  that  after  two  days  [the  feast  of]  the  passover 
takes  place,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  handed  over  to  be  crucified." 

3  Then  the  chief-priests,  [[and  the  scribes,]]  and  the  elders  of 
the  people  were  gathered  together  at  the  court  of  the  high-priest, 
who  was  called  Caiaphas;  4  and  they  consulted  together,  that  they 
might  lay  hold  of  lesous  by  guile,  and  kill  him.     5  But  they  said : 

"Xot  during  the  feast,  lest  an  uproar  take  place  among  the  com- 
mon people." 

6  Now,  when  lesous  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house  of  Simon 


668  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

the  leper,  7  there  came  to  him  a  woman  having  an  alabaster 
flask  of  very  valuable  oil,  and  she  poured  it  on  his  head  as  he 
reclined  [at  table].  8  But  the  disciples,  when  they  saw  it,  be- 
came indignant,  saying: 

"Wherefore  this  waste?  9  For  this  [[oil]]  could  have  been  sold 
for  much,  and  [the  proceeds]  given  to  the  poor." 

10  But  lesous,  observing  this,  said  to  them : 

"Why  do  you  cause  the  woman  pain  ?  For  she  has  performed  a 
gracious  deed  on  me.  11  For  you  have  the  poor  with  you  always; 
but  me  you  do  not  have  always.  12  For  this  [woman],  in  pouring 
the  oil  on  my  body,  did  it  with  a  view  to  my  burial.  13  Amen,  I  say 
to  you.  Wherever,  in  the  whole  world,  these  good  tidings  shall  be 
proclaimed,  that  also  which  this  woman  has  done  shall  be  spoken  of 
as  a  memorial  of  her." 

14  Then  one  of  the  twelve,  who  is  called  loudas  Iskariotes,  went 
to  the  chief-priests,     15  and  said  : 

"What  are  you  willing  to  give  me,  and  I  shall  hand  him  over  to 
you?" 

'And  they  paid'  him  thirty  pieces  of  silver.'  16  And  thenceforth 
he  kept  looking  for  an  opportunity,  that  he  might  hand  him  over. 

17  Now,  on  the  first  [day]  of  unleavened  bread  the  disciples 
came  to  lesous,  saying: 

"Where  do  you  wish  us  to  make  ready  for  you  to  eat  the 
passover?" 

1 8  And  he  said : 

"Go  into  the  city  to  So-and-so,  and  say  to  him,  The  teacher 
says,  'My  season  is  near ;  I  celebrate  the  passover  at  your  house 
with  my  disciples.'  " 

19  And  the  disciples  did  as  lesous  directed  them;  and  they 
made  ready  the  passover. 

COMMENTARY 

Among  the  ancient  Jews  thirty  shekels  was  the  price  of  a  slave ; 
thus  Josephus  (Antiquities  iv.  8.  37)  says  that  if  an  ox  should  kill 
a  slave,  its  owner  should  pay  the  master  of  the  slave  thirty  shekels. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  669 

Here  the   forger  has  loiidas   receive  that  sum   for  betraying  his 
Master ! 

The  Water-bearer  and  the  "upper  room"  in  his  house  have  been 
cut  out  of  the  text  of  Matthew,  because  they  reveal  too  clearly  the 
zodiacal  meaning.  Aquarius  is  here  a  nondescript  individual,  who 
is  alluded  to  as  "So-and-so,"  8eti/a,  a  word  applied  to  one  whose 
name  the  speaker  can  not  recall  or  does  not  wish  to  mention :  it  may 
be  translated,  on  the  authority  of  Liddell  and  Scott's  Lexicon,  as 
"Thingumbob."  The  compiler  of  Matthew  evidently  found  it  con- 
venient to  forget  the  name  Hydrochoos,  the  Water-pourer,  as  well 
as  the  names  of  the  two  disciples  who  were  sent  to  him,  and  other 
details.  The  compiler  of  Luke  also  betrays  a  faulty  memory  when 
he  says  that  the  two  disciples  were  Petros  and  loannes ;  for  he  should 
have  said  Andreas,  since  loannes  belongs  to  another  quarter  of  the 
zodiac. 

Ch.  XXVI.  20-35 

20  Now,  when  evening  arrived,  he  was  reclining  [at  table] 
with  the  twelve  [[disciples]] ;  21  and  as  they  were  eating,  he 
said: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you.  One  among  you  will  hand  me  over." 

22  And  they  were  exceedingly  grieved,  and  began  to  say  to 
him  every  one: 

"It  is  not  I,  I  hope,  Master?" 

2T^  But  he  answered  and  said: 

"He  who  dipped  his  hand  with  me  in  the  bowl,  he  shall  hand 
me  over.  24  The  Son  of  man  goes  [to  his  death],  as  it  is  written 
concerning  him ;  but  woe  to  the  man  through  whom  the  Son  of 
man  is  handed  over!  It  were  good  for  him  if  that  man  had  not 
been  born." 

25  And  loudas,  who  was  handing  him  over,  said : 
"It  is  not  I,  I  hope,  Rabbir 

He  says  to  him  : 
"You  have  said  [it]." 

26  And  as  they  were  eating,  lesous  took  a  loaf  of  bread,  and 


670  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

having  blessed  it,  he  broke  it  in  pieces,  and  giving  [the  por- 
tions] to  the  disciples,  he  said: 

"Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body." 

27  And  he  took  [  [the]  ]  cup,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks, 
he  gave  it  to  them,  saying: 

"Drink  from  it,  all  of  you;  28  for  this  is  my  blood  'of  the 
[[new]]  covenant,'  which  is  jjoured  out  for  many  for  remission  of 
sins.  29  But  I  say  to  you,  I  shall  not  drink  henceforth  of  this 
produce  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with 
you  in  the  kingdom  of  my  Father." 

30  And  when  they  had  chanted  an  ode,  they  went  out  to  the 
mountain  of  the  olive-trees. 

31  Then  lesous  says  to  them: 

"All  of  you  will  be  caused  to  fall  away  in  regard  to  me  dur- 
ing this  night:  for  it  is  written:  7  zi'ill  smite  the  shepherd,  and 
the  sheep  shall  be  scattered  abroad.'  32  But  after  I  am  raised  up, 
I  shall  ])recede  you  into  Galilee." 

33  But  Petros  answered  and  said  to  him: 

"If  all  [the  others]  shall  be  caused  to  fall  away  in  regard  to 
you,  I  shall  never  be  caused  to  fall  away." 

34  lesous  said  to  him: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  During  this  night,  before  the  cock 
crows,  you  will  utterly  deny  me  thrice." 

35  Petros  says  to  him: 

"Even  if  it  were  inevitable  for  me  to  die  with  you,  I  shall  in 
no  wise  deny  you." 

Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Old  Testament  quotations  only  serve  the  general  purpose  of 
vaguely  connecting  the  new  scriptures  with  the  old ;  and  they  almost 
invariably  betray  dishonesty  of  purpose  and  maladroitness  in  its 
execution.  The  passage  misquoted  from  Zechariah  (xiii.  7)  reads 
differentl}^  "  'Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  shepherd'  ....  says 
Yahveh  of  hosts ;  'smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scat- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  671 

tered.'  "  If  this  is  applied  to  lesous.  it  must  mean  that  Yahveh 
smote  him  with  the  sword ;  and  londas  can  be  connected  with  the 
metaphor  only  by  considering  him  to  be  the  weapon  wielded  by  the 
warlike  Yahveh,  whom  the  forgers  identify  with  the  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther of  lesous.  Yet  some  of  the  exploits  of  the  Jewish  tribal  God, 
as  recounted  in  the  Old  Testament,  would  have  disgraced  a  hairy 
and  prognathous  savage.  According  to  this  scheme  of  salvation, 
lesous  and  loudas  were  alike  but  instruments  in  the  hands  of  Deity. 
Even  as  Prometheus  was  chained  to  the  rock  by  "the  decree  of  Zeus, 
but  the  hand  of  Hephaistos,"  so  loudas  also  was  but  an  agent  in 
carrying  out  the  will  of  God  that  lesous  should  be  crucified. 

Ch.  XXVI.  36-56 

36  Then  lesous  comes  with  them  to  an  enclosure  called 
Gethsemane.  and  he  says  to  his  disciples: 

"Sit  here,  while  I  go  over  there  and  pray." 

37  And  he  took  with  him  Petros  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebe- 
daios,  and  began  to  be  grieved  and  depressed.  38  Then  he 
says  to  them: 

"  'My  soul  is  deeply  grieved,'  even  to  death.  Remain  here  and 
watch  with  me." 

39  And  having  gone  forward  a  little,  he  fell  on  his  face,  pray- 
ing, and  saying: 

"Aly  Father,  if  it  is  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  away  from  me; 
however,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wiliest." 

40  And  he  comes  to  his  disciples,  and  finds  them  sleeping, 
and  says  to  Petros  : 

"So  then,  were  you  not  able  to  watch  with  me  one  hour? 
41  Watch,  and  pray  that  you  may  not  enter  into  temptation. 
The  spirit  indeed  is  eager,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." 

42  Again  he  went  away  a  second  time,  and  prayed,  [[say- 
ing]]: 

"Aly  Father,  if  this  [[cup]]  can  not  pass  away  [[from  me]], 
except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  accomplished." 

43  And  he  came  again  and  found  them  sleeping,  for  their 


672  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

eyes  were  weighted  down.  44  And  leaving  them  again,  he 
went  away,  and  prayed  a  third  time,  saying  the  same  speech. 
45  Then  he  comes  to  the  disciples,  and  says  to  them: 

"Are  you  sleeping  already  and  taking  your  rest?  Behold, 
the  hour  has  drawn  near,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  delivered  over 
into  the  hands  of  sinners!  46  Arise;  let  us  be  going.  Behold, 
he  who  is  handing  me  over  has  drawn  near." 

47  And  while  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  came  loudas,  one 
of  the  twelve,  and  with  him  a  large  crowd,  with  swords  and 
clubs,  from  the  chief-priests  and  elders  of  the  people.  48  Now, 
he  who  hands  him  over  had  given  them  a  sign,  saying: 

"Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  that  is  he;  seize  him." 

49  And  immediately  he  came  to  lesous,  and  said,  "Welcome, 
Rabbi!"  and  kissed  him  again  and  again.  50  And  lesous  said 
to  him: 

"Comrade,  [do]  that  for  which  you  are  come." 

Then  they  approached,  and  laid  their  hands  on  lesous,  and 
seized  him.  51  And  behold,  one  of  those  with  lesous,  stretch- 
ing out  his  hand,  drew  his  sword,  and  struck  the  high-priest's 
slave,  and  took  ofif  his  ear.     52  Then  lesous  says  to  him : 

"Restore  your  sword  to  its  place  :  for  all  who  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  by  the  sword.  53  Or  do  you  think  that  I  can  not  call  my 
Father  to  help,  and  he  shall  even  now  place  at  my  disposal  more 
than  twelve  legions  of  Divinities?  54  How,  then,  should  the  scrip- 
tures be  fulfilled  that  it  must  inevitably  befall  thus?" 

55  In  that  hour  lesous  said  to  the  crowds: 

"Have  you  come  out,  as  against  a  bandit,  with  swords  and 
clubs  to  apprehend  me?  Daily  I  sat  [[with  you]]  teaching  in 
the  temple,  and  you  did  not  seize  me.  56  But  all  this  has  come 
about,  that  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets  might  be  fulfilled." 

Then  all  the  disciples  left  him,  and  fled. 

COMMENTARY 

The  loving  kisses  of  loudas  and  the  kindly  words  addressed  to 
him  by  lesous  can  hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  theory  that  loudas 
was  a  venal  traitor  whose  heart  had  become  a  lair  of  Satan.    A  skil- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  673 

ful  forger  could  easily  have  so  edited  the  story  as  to  give  it  unity 
of  plan  and  congruity  of  details;  but  the  compilers  and  redactors 
of  the  Gospels  were,  as  their  work  indisputably  shows,  men  of 
meagre  attainments  and  of  no  literary  training.  Also  it  is  apparent 
that  for  many  years  the  priests  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  weaving 
their  fancies  into  the  text;  and  in  consequence  of  their  injudicious 
contributions  it  resembles  Joseph's  coat  or  a  rustic  crazy-quilt. 
Thus,  after  lesous  has  vainly  besought  the  unrelenting  Father  to 
let  the  cup  pass  away  from  him,  he  yet  asserts  that  if  he  were  to 
ask  the  Father  for  help,  more  than  twelve  legions  of  heavenly  war- 
riors would  be  sent  to  rescue  him.  He  does  not  ask  for  them,  for 
the  reason  that  the  scriptures  must  be  fulfilled  by  his  death— a  fact 
that  had  not  occurred  to  him  when  he  was  praying  for  the  removal 
of  the  cup.  The  reference  to  the  scriptures  is  made  only  in  general 
terms,  the  forgers  having  failed  to  find  any  passage  in  them  that 
could  be  distorted  into  a  suitable  prophecy.  In  Mark  ix.  12,  13 
there  are  similar  vague  allusions  to  scriptural  "prophecies"  concern- 
ing the  crucifixion  of  lesous  and  the  beheading  of  Joannes. 

Ch.  XXVI.  57-75 

57  And  the  [men]  who  had  seized  lesous  led  him  away  to 
Caiaphas,  the  high-priest,  where  the  scribes  and  the  elders  were 
gathered  together.  58  And  Petros  followed  at  a  distance,  to 
the  high-priest's  court,  and  he  entered  within,  and  sat  down 
with  the  servants,  to  see  the  end.  59  And  the  chief-priests, 
[[and  the  elders]],  and  the  whole  council  were  seeking  false 
evidence  against  lesous,  that  they  might  put  him  to  death,  60 
and  they  did  not  find  [any],  though  many  false  witnesses  came 
forward.  But  at  last  two  false  witnesses  came  forward,  61 
and  said: 

"This  [man]  said,  *I  am  able  to  destroy  the  sanctuary  of 
God,  and  to  build  it  in  three  days.'  " 

62  And  the  high-priest  stood  up  and  said  to  him: 

"Do  you  answer  nothing?  What  [is  it]  that  these  [wit- 
nesses] are  testifying  against  you?" 


6/4  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

6^  But  lesous  was  silent.    And  the  high-priest  said  to  him : 
"I  adjure  you  by  the  Hving  God,  that  you  tell  us  whether 
you  are  the  Anointed,  the  Son  of  God." 

64  lesous  says  to  him : 

"You  have  said  it.  However,  I  say  to  you.  Henceforth  'you 
shall  see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  Power,  and 
coming  on  the  clonds  of  the  sky/  " 

65  Then  the  high-priest  tore  his  clothes,  saying: 

"He  has  spoken  most  impiously!  What  further  need  have 
we  of  witnesses?  Behold,  now  you  have  heard  [  [his J  ]  impious 
assertions,     66  what  is  your  opinion?" 

And  they  answered  and  said: 

"He  is  liable  to  the  death-sentence." 

67  Then  they  spat  in  his  face,  and  boxed  his  ears;  and  some 
ctruck  him  [with  their  rods],    68  saying: 

"Divine  for  us.  Anointed:  who  is  he  who  struck  you?" 

69  Now,  Petros  was  sitting  outside  in  the  court ;  and  a  slave- 
girl  came  to  him,  saying : 

"You  also  were  with  lesous  the  Galilaean." 

70  But  he  denied  before  all,  saying: 
"I  do  not  know  what  you  are  saying." 

71  And  when  he  had  gone  out  into  the  porch,  another  [girl] 
saw  him,  and  says  to  the  [bystanders]  there: 

"This  [man]  was  with  lesous  the  Nazorsean." 

72  And  again  he  denied  with  an  oath : 
"I  do  not  know  the  man." 

JT^  And  after  a  little  [while]  the  bystanders  came  and  said  to 
Petros : 

"Really  you  are  [one]  o£  them;  for  even  your  speech  makes 
you  noticeable." 

74  Then  he  began  to  assert  with  imprecations  and  oaths: 

"I  do  not  know  the  man." 

And  immediately  the  cock  crowed.  75  And  Petros  remem- 
bered the  saying  which  lesous  had  said  to  him,  "Before  the 
cock  crows,  you  will  deny  me  thrice."  And  he  went  outside, 
and  wept  bitterly. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  675 

COMMENTARY 

Petros  denying  his  Master  is  a  pitiful  figure,  hardly  less  ignoble 
than  loudas  is  in  the  role  of  traitor  assigned  him  by  the  forgers. 
According  to  Mark  the  prediction  was  that  the  cock  would  crow 
twice  before  the  third  denial,  and  accordingly  the  cock  does  crow 
a  second  time ;  but  here  and  in  Liikc  the  prediction  and  its  fulfilment 
allow  chanticleer  to  crow  but  once — after  the  third  denial.  The 
former  version  is  probably  the  correct  one,  though  it  is  less  plausible 
in  a  literal  sense,  inasmuch  as  the  first  crow  might  well  have  stirred 
the  memory  of  the  disciple,  even  though  the  prediction  called  for  a 
second  crowing.  Only  one  servant-girl  accuses  Petros,  according 
to  Mark ;  but  according  to  Matthew  and  Luke,  the  girl  who  speaks 
to  him  the  second  time  is  "another"  one. 

In  verse  57  "where"  (ottov)  refers  to  Caiaphas,  as  if  he  were  a 
place  and  not  a  person ! 

Chapter  xxvii.  i-io 

I  Now,  when  morning  arrived,  all  the  chief-priests  and  the 
elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against  lesous,  that  they 
might  put  him  to  death;  2  and  they  bound  him,  and  led  him 
away,  and  handed  him  over  to  [[Pontius]]  Pilate,  the  gov- 
ernor. 

3  Then  loudas,  who  had  handed  him  over,  having  seen  that  he 
was  condemned,  repented  himself  and  returned  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  to  the  chief-priests  and  elders,    4  saying: 

"I  have  sinned  by  handing  over  innocent  blood." 

But  they  said : 

"What  is  that  to  us?    Look  to  it  yourself." 

5  And  he  hurled  the  pieces  of  silver  into  the  sanctuary,  and  with- 
drew, and  went  away  and  hanged  himself.  6  And  the  chief-priests 
took  the  pieces  of  silver,  and  said : 

"It  is  not  lawful  to  put  them  into  the  repository  of  votive  offer- 
ings, since  it  is  the  price  of  blood." 

7  And  they  took  counsel,  and  bought  with  them  the  potter's  field, 
for  a  burial-place  for  strangers.     8  Wherefore  that  field  has  been 


676  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

called  "Field  of  Blood"  to  this  day.     9  Then  was  fulfilled  that 
which  was  spoken  through  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying : 

''And  I  [[they]]  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  him 
zvho  had  been  priced,  ivhom  they  priced  [ivho  are]  of  the  sons  of 
Israel;  10  atid  I  [[they]]  gave  them  for  the  potter's  field,  accord- 
ing as  the  Master  directed  me." 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  has  been  clumsily  wedged  in  between  verses  2  and  11, 
which  show  by  their  closely  connected  wording  that  they  originally 
had  no  other  sentences  between  them.  It  is  likewise  out  of  place  in 
the  narrative ;  for  lesous  had  not  been  condemned  or  even  tried :  the 
forger  has  mistaken  the  preliminary  examination  of  lesous  by  the 
priests  for  a  trial,  whereas  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  lesous 
took  place  later  before  the  civil  magistrate.  The  words  credited  in 
the  text  to  Jeremiah  are  taken  from  Zechariah  xi.  12,  13,  and  only 
by  fantastic  literary  juggling  could  they  be  contorted  into  anything 
remotelv  resembling  a  "prophecy."  Zechariah  speaks  of  himself  as 
a  shepherd,  who  has  fed  the  flock  (the  people),  by  command  of 
Yahveh,  and  goes  on  to  say:  "And  I  said  to  them  (the  people),  'If 
ye  think  good,  give  me  my  hire;  and  if  not,  forbear.'  So  they 
weighed  out  for  my  hire  thirty  [pieces]  of  silver.  And  Yahveh  said 
unto  me,  'Cast  it  unto  the  potter,  the  goodly  price  that  I  was  prized 
at  by  them.'  And  I  took  the  thirty  [pieces]  of  silver,  and  cast  them 
unto  the  potter,  in  the  house  of  Yahveh,"  This  is  the  "prophecy" 
which  was  so  wonderfully  fulfilled  when  loudas,  having  accepted 
thirty  pieces  of  silver  for  betraying  lesous,  repented,  returned  the 
money,  and  hanged  himself,  whereupon  the  priests  bought  a  "pot- 
ter's field"  with  the  silver!  This  palpable  forgery  has  no  parallel 
in  the  other  Synoptics;  but  in  the  amusing  romance  called  The  Acts 
(i.  18,  19)  a  version  of  it  is  given  in  which  loudas  is  saved  the 
trouble  of  hanging  himself  by  having  him  break  in  two  at  the  waist 
with  a  crash.  As  no  mention  is  made  of  his  having  swallow^ed  an 
explosive,  his  mysterious  death  must  be  attributed  to  a  miracle. 
Even  Ananias  and  Sapphira  did  not  give  up  the  ghost  so  mysteri- 
ouslv.    But  the  author  of  The  Acts,  whose  literary  inventions  would 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  677 

have  made  the  ghost  of  Ananias  bhish,  was  probably  guiltless  of 
this  fairy  story;  for  the  way  in  which  it  is  squeezed  into  the  text, 
where  even  parentheses  fail  to  justify  its  intrusion,  shows  that  it 
is  an  interpolation.  It  reads  as  follows,  including  the  indispensable 
parentheses:  "(Xow,  this  man  procured  for  himself  a  field  with 
the  wages  of  his  wrong-doing,  and  having  fallen  headlong,  with  a 
crash  he  broke  open  in  the  middle,  and  all  his  internal  organs 
gushed  out.  And  it  became  known  to  all  those  dwelling  at  Jerusa- 
lem, so  that  in  their  language  that  field  was  called  Akcldama  [or 
Akeldamach,  or  Hakcldauia,  or  Hakcldamach,  a  nondescript  word, 
supposed  to  be  Chaldaic],  that  is,  'Field  of  Blood.')"  Here  loudas 
did  not  repent,  did  not  return  the  money,  did  not  commit  suicide, 
and,  worst  of  all,  did  not  bring  about  the  fulfilment  of  the  "proph- 
ecy" of  '']ertm\2\\'  so  elaborately  misquoted  from  the  writings  of 
Zechariah. 

Ch.  xxvii.  1 1-26 

1 1  And  lesous  stood  before  the  governor ;  and  the  governor 
interrogated  him,  saying: 

"You  are  the  king  of  the  Jews?" 
And  lesous  said  to  him: 
"You  say  [it]  ?" 

12  And  when  he  was  accused  by  the  chief-priests  and  elders, 
he  answered  nothing.     13  Then  Pilate  says  to  him: 

"Do  you  not  hear  how  many  things  they  are  testifying 
against  you?" 

14  And  he  did  not  answer  him  with  reference  to  even  one 
word ;  so  that  the  governor  wondered  very  much.  1 5  Now,  at 
a  festival  the  governor  was  accustomed  to  release  to  the  crowd 
one  prisoner,  [any  one]  whom  they  wished.  16  And  they  had 
there  a  notorious  prisoner,  called  [[lesous]]  Barabbas.  17 
Therefore,  when  they  were  gathered  together,  Pilate  said  to 
them: 

"Whom  do  you  wish  that  I  release  to  you — [[lesous]]  Bar- 
abbas, or  [lesous]  the  so-called  'Anointed'?" 

18  For  he  knew  that   [the  chief-priests]   had  handed  him 


678  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

over  through  envy.  19  And  while  he  was  sitting  on  the  tri- 
bunal his  wife  sent  [a  messenger]  to  him,  saying: 

"[Let  the  accusation  be]  nothing  to  you  and  to  that  just  man: 
for  I  have  suffered  many  things  to-day  in  a  dream  because  of  him." 

20  But  the  chief-priests  and  the  elders  persuaded  the  crowds 
that  they  should  demand  Barabbas,  and  that  they  should  de- 
stroy lesous.  21  But  the  governor  answered  and  said  to 
them: 

"Which  of  the  two  do  you  wish  that  I  release  to  you?" 

And  they  said: 

"Barabbas." 

22  Pilate  says  to  them: 

"What,  then,  shall  I  do  to  lesous,  the  so-called  'Anointed'?" 
They  all  say  [[to  him]]  : 
"Let  him  be  crucified!" 

23  But  [  [the  governor]  ]  said : 
"Why,  what  crime  has  he  committed?" 
But  they  cried  out  furiously,  saying : 
"Let  him  be  crucified!" 

24  And  Pilate,  seeing  that  it  was  of  no  avail,  but  rather  that  a 
tumult  was  arising,  took  water  and  washed  his  hands  before  the 
crowd,  saying: 

"I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  man.  Look  to  it  your- 
selves." 

25  And  all  the  people  answered  and  said : 
"His  blood  [be]  on  us  and  on  our  children !" 

26  Then  he  released  to  them  Barabbas,  but  he  handed  over 
lesous,  when  he  had  scourged  him,  to  be  crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

Pilate  seems  to  have  had  but  little  confidence  in  his  wife's  ability 
as  a  dream-seeress.  The  dream  was  an  attempted  interference  with 
the  divine  will;  for  if  Pilate  had  regarded  the  warning,  and  set 
lesous  free,  the  plan  of  salvation  would  have  been  thwarted,  and 
the  "prophecies"  would  have  been  unfulfilled.  But  Pilate  waves  aside 
the  warning;  and  having  condemned  to  death  a  man  whom  he  ac- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  679 

knowledges  to  be  innocent,  he  seeks  to  exculpate  himself  by  a  lus- 
tration and  a  lie.  As  an  unjust  judge,  he  was  guilty  of  judicial 
murder;  and  by  washing  his  hands  and  denying  his  responsibility  he 
could  not  purify  himself  or  ease  his  conscience.  The  rather  unusual 
phrase,  "Look  to  it,"  is  found  also  in  verse  4,  and  this  indicates  that 
the  story  of  Pilate  washing  his  hands  was  written  by  the  same  for- 
ger (a  romancer  with  a  weakness  for  melodramatic  situations)  who 
inserted  the  fiction  about  loudas  hanging  himself. 

Ch.  XXVII.  27-56 

2^  Then  the  governor's  soldiers  took  lesous  to  the  judg- 
ment-hall, and  gathered  together  against  him  the  wdiole  band. 

28  And  they  stripped  him,  and  put  round  him  a  scarlet  robe. 
29  And  having  plaited  a  crown  of  thorns,  they  put  it  on  his 
head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right  hand ;  and  bending  the  knee  before 
him,  they  played  this  childish  game  on  him,  saying: 

"Hail,  King  of  the  Jews !" 

30  And  they  spat  on  him,  and  struck  him  on  his  head.  31 
And  when  they  had  played  this  childish  game  on  him,  they  dis- 
robed him  of  the  robe,  and  clothed  him  in  his  owm  garments, 
and  led  him  away  to  crucify  him. 

32  And  as  they  are  going  forth,  they  found  a  Cyrenaean, 
Simon  by  name ;  they  pressed  him  into  service,  that  he  might 
bear  his  cross. 

T^T^  And  when  they  had  come  to  a  place  called  Golgotha,  that 
is  to  say,  "Place  of  a  Skull,"  34  they  gave  him  wine  to  drink 
mixed  with  myrrh,  and  when  he  had  tasted  it  he  would  not 
drink.  35  And  when  they  had  crucified  him,  "they  sorted  out 
and  distributed"  his  "garineiits  ajuoiig  theiiiselz'es,  throzviug  dice," 
[  [that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  "They 
sorted  out  and  distributed  my  garments  among  themselves,  and 
upon  my  apparel  they  threzv  dice"]].  36  And  sitting  down,  they 
kept  guard  over  him  there.  37  And  above  his  head  they  put 
his  crime  written:  "This  is  lesous-,  the  King  of  the  Jew^s."  38 
Then  with  him  are  crucified  two  bandits,  one  [[named  Zoa- 
tham]]  at  the  right  hand,  and  one  [[named  Camma]]  at  the 


68o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

left.     39  And  the  passers-by  kept  speaking  to  him  abusively, 

"shaking  their  heads,"     40  and  saying: 

"Destroyer  of  the  sanctuary  and  builder  of  it  in  three  days, 
save  yourself:  if  you  are  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the 
cross." 

41  In  like  manner  also  the  chief-priests,  playing  a  children's 
game,  with  the  scribes  and  elders,  said: 

42  "He  saved  others;  he  can  not  save  himself.  [[If]]  he  is 
the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  come  down  now  from  the  cross, 
and  we  will  believe  in  him.  43  'He  relied  on  God:  let  {God'\ 
rescue  him  noiv,  if  he  is  willing  \^to  rescue']  him' ;  for  he  said,  'I  am 
the  Son  of  God.'  " 

44  And  the  bandits  who  were  crucified  with  him  cast  upon 
him  the  same  reproach. 

45  Now,  when  the  sixth  hour  came,  darkness  settled  over 
all  the  earth  until  the  ninth  hour ;  46  and  about  the  ninth  hour 
lesous  exclaimed  in  a  loud  voice,  saying : 

"  'Eli,  Eli,  lama  sahachthanif  "  that  is,  "My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  deserted  me?" 

47  And  some  of  the  bystanders  there  said: 
"He  is  calling  for  EHjah." 

48  And  immediately  one  of  them  ran,  and  took  a  sponge,  and 
saturated  it  with  sour  wine,  and  put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to 
drink.    49  But  the  rest  said : 

"Let  [him]  be:  let  us  see  if  Elijah  is  coming  to  save  him." 
[[And  another  took  a  spear,  and  pierced  his  side;  and  water 
and  blood  came  out.]]  50  And  lesous  again  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  breathed  his  last.  51  And  behold,  the  veil  of 
the  sanctuary  wac  torn  in  two  from  top  to  bottom;  and  the 
earth  quaked,  and  the  rocks  were  split :  52  and  the  monuments 
were  opened,  and  many  bodies  of  the  slumbering  saints  were 
resurrected,  53  and  coming  forth  out  of  the  monuments  after 
his  resurrection  they  entered  into  the  sacred  city  and  showed 
themselves  to  many. 

54  Now,  the  centurion,   and  the    [soldiers]    with  him,  keeping 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  68i 

guard  over  lesous,  when  they  saw  the  earthquake  and  the  happen- 
ings, were  exceedingly  terrified,  saying : 

"He  really  was  God's  Son." 

55  And  many  women  were  there,  looking  on  from  afar,  who 
had  followed  lesous  from  Galilee,  serving  him,  56  among 
whom  were  Mariam  the  temple-woman,  and  Mariam  the 
mother  of  lakobos  and  loses,  and  the  mother  of  the  sons  of 
Zebedaios. 

COMMENTARY 

Because  David  poetically  says  (Psalms  Ixix.  21),  "They  gave 
me  gall  for  my  food,  and  in  my  thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar  to 
drink,"  lesous  is  literally  offered  drugged  wine ;  and  again  because 
David  says  (Psaluis  xxii.  18),  "They  part  my  garments  among 
them,  and  upon  my  vesture  do  they  cast  lots,"  the  clothing  of  lesous 
is  distributed  among  the  soldiers  by  lot.  Even  the  last  utterance 
of  lesous,  his  cry  of  despair,  is  but  a  quotation  from  the  Psoliiis  of 
David.  In  the  original  conception  of  the  forgers  lesous  was  a  re- 
incarnation of  King  David,  who  had  returned  to  reign  over  the 
Jews,  but  was  rejected  by  them  and  put  to  death  at  the  instigation 
of  the  priests ;  but  when  thus  repudiated  and  slain  by  the  "chosen 
people"  he  develops  into  a  world-savior.  It  was  a  difficult  problem 
to  reconcile  his  universal  mission  with  the  narrowness  of  the  Jewish 
scriptures;  and  neither  the  forgers  nor  the  many  generations  of 
theologians  who  have  succeeded  them  have  ever  given  a  satisfac- 
tory solution  of  it,  despite  their  theory  of  an  old  dispensation  and  a 
new  one.  With  the  development  of  the  dogmas  of  eternal  damna- 
tion and  the  vicarious  atonement,  the  belief  in  reincarnation  faded 
out,  and  passages  which  had  been  inserted  in  the  Gospels  to  show 
that  lesous  was  David  reincarnated  came  to  be  regarded  as  being 
allusions  to  Messianic  prophecies. 

The  "monuments"  (/xvi7/xeta)  which  opened  were,  of  course, 
"tombs"  of  some  sort ;  but  the  use  of  the  Greek  word  in  that  sense 
is  very  peculiar,  if  not  erroneous.  The  preposterous  statement  is 
made  that  at  the  death  of  lesous  the  corpses  of  many  saints  were 
restored  to  life — presumably  with  all  their  decomposed  tissues  re- 


682  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

placed  before  they  emerged  from  the  tombs,  after  his  resurrection, 
as  otherwise  their  appearance  upon  the  streets  would  have  been  too 
startling  even  in  an  age  of  miracles.  The  forger,  however,  has 
endeavored  to  be  reasonable;  for  he  allows  three  days — from  the 
death  to  the  resurrection  of  lesous — for  the  awakened  saints  to 
make  themselves  presentable  before  emerging  from  the  tombs  so 
miraculously  opened  by  the  earthquake. 

Cii.  XXVII.  57-61 

57  And  when  evening  arrived,  there  came  a  rich  man  from 
Arimathaea,  named  Joseph,  who  also  had  been  a  disciple  to 
lesous  ;  58  he  went  to  Pilate  and  asked  for  the  body  of  lesous. 
Then  Pilate  commanded  [[the  body]]  to  be  delivered  over. 
59  And  Idseph  took  the  body,  and  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen 
cloth,  60  and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  monument,  which  he  had 
hewn  out  in  the  rock;  and  he  rolled  a  great  stone  against  the 
door  of  the  monument,  and  went  away.  61  And  Mariam  the 
temple-woman  was  there,  and  the  other  Mariam,  sitting  op- 
posite the  burial-vault. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  loseph  is  said  to  have  been  a  "disciple"  of  lesous,  whereas 
in  Mark  and  Ltikc  that  fact  is  not  mentioned,  though  it  is  stated 
that  he  w^as  waiting  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  As  he  was  a  "rich 
man,"  he  would  have  the  same  difficulty  in  entering  that  kingdom 
that  a  camel  would  have  in  passing  through  the  eye  of  a  needle. 
However,  he  is  the  only  rich  man  who  is  mentioned  favorably  in 
the  entire  narrative — except  Abraham.  Solomon  and  other  wealthy 
worthies,  long  dead,  who  belonged  to  the  old  dispensation. 

Ch.  xxvii.  62-66 

62  Now,  on  the  morrow,  which  is  [the  day]  after  the  Prepara- 
tion, the  chief -priests  and  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together  to 
Pilate,     63  saying: 

"Master,  we  have  called  to  mind  that  that  impostor  said  while  he 
was  yet  living.  'After  three  days  I  shall  rise  [from  the  dead].'    64 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  683 

Therefore  command  the  burial-vault  to  be  made  secure  until  the 
third  day,  lest  ever  his  disciples  come  [[by  night]]  and  steal  him 
away,  and  say  to  the  people,  'He  is  risen  from  the  dead' ;  and  the 
last  imposture  will  be  worse  than  the  first." 

65  And  Pilate  said  to  them : 

"You  have  a  guard  [of  soldiers].  Go  and  make  it  secure,  as  you 
know." 

66  And  they  went  and  made  the  burial-vault  secure,  stamping  the 
stone  with  a  seal,  [further  securing  it]  with  the  guard  [of  soldiers]. 

Chapter  xxviii.  1-15 

I  Now,  late  on  the  sabbath,  as  the  dawn  was  whitening  to- 
ward the  first  [day]  of  the  week,  came  Mariam  the  temple- 
woman  and  the  other  Mariam  to  look  at  the  burial-vault,  2 
And  behold,  a  great  earthquake  took  place;  for  a  Divinity  of 
the  IMaster  came  down  out  of  the  sky,  and  approached  and 
rolled  away  the  stone,  and  was  sitting  upon  it.  3  His  outward 
semblance  was  as  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow; 
4  and  for  fear  of  him  the  [soldiers]  keeping  guard  trembled 
and  became  as  corpses.  5  And  the  Divinity  answered  and  said 
to  the  women: 

"Fear  not  ye :  for  I  know  that  ye  seek  lesous,  who  hath  been 
crucified.  6  He  is  not  here;  for  he  is  risen,  just  as  he  said. 
Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Master  was  lying.  7  And  go 
cjuickly  and  say  to  his  disciples,  'He  is  risen  from  the  dead;  and 
behold,  he  is  going  before  you  into  Galilee;  there  ye  shall  see 
him.'     Behold,  I  have  told  you!" 

8  And  they  went  out  quickly  from  the  monument  with  fear  and 
great  joy,  and  ran  and  reported  it  to  his  disciples.  9  [  [But  as  they 
were  going,  to  report  it  to  his  disciples,]]  and  behold,  lesous  met 
them,  saying,  "Welcome  all !"  And  they  came  to  him,  and  took  hold 
of  his  feet  and  worshipped  him.     10  Then  lesous  says  to  them: 

"Fear  not.  Go  and  report  it  to  my  brothers,  that  they  may  go 
into  Galilee,  and  there  they  shall  see  me." 

I I  Now,  as  they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  the  guard  [of  sol- 
diers] came  into  the  city,  and  reported  to  the  chief-priests  all  the 


684  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

happenings.  12  And  when  they  had  assembled  with  the  ciders, 
and  had  taken  counsel,  they  gave  much  money  to  the  soldiers,  i;^ 
saying : 

"Say,  'His  disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him  away  while  we 
were  asleep.'  14  And  if  this  is  heard  by  the  governor,  we  will  ap- 
pease him,  and  get  you  out  of  trouble." 

15  And  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  had  been  instructed ; 
and  this  saying  was  spread  abroad  among  the  Jews  until  this  day. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Divinity  whose  visible  form  gleams  as  with  dazzling  flashes 
of  lightning  is  lesous  resurrected,  not  in  the  body  of  clay,  but  in  the 
resplendent  immortal  vesture  of  the  perfected  Man  who  has  re- 
gained his  divine  Kingship.  Having  rolled  away  the  stone  of  illu- 
sion, he  emerges  from  the  tomb  of  material  consciousness  and  greets 
the  Mighty  Mother  and  the  lowlier  Sister,  the  sin-tarnished  but 
repentant  Soul  of  the  World.  With  this  solemn  and  glorious  mani- 
festation of  the  newly  Anointed  King  the  marvellous  drama  ends. 
But  in  the  falsified  text  this  scene  of  beauty  ineffable,  of  magnifi- 
cence supernal,  is  marred  by  the  puerile  and  ugly  fabrications  of  the 
priestly  forgers.  The  disciples  of  lesous,  who  are  but  the  personi- 
fied forces  and  faculties  of  the  Self  eternal,  are  merged  in  the  glory 
of  their  risen  Master;  but  the  historico-theological  imposture  de- 
manded that  they  should  continue  their  earthly  career  as  propa- 
gandists of  the  new  cult  formulated  by  the  forgers.  Here  in  Mat- 
thczv  some  priestly  scribbler,  having  no  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things, 
has  placed  in  the  text  a  foolish  story,  wretchedly  worded,  to  the 
effect  that  the  priests  took  precautions  against  a  pretended  resurrec- 
tion, and  then  bribed  the  soldiers  to  deny  the  actual  resurrection, 
although  those  soldiers  are  said  to  have  "become  as  corpses"  at  the 
sight  of  the  God  w^ho  appeared  at  the  tomb.  Now,  there  are  priests 
of  a  certain  class — adequately  represented  by  the  forger  of  this  story 
of  incredible  baseness — who  have  reached  the  lowest  level  of  im- 
morality to  which  the  human  soul  can  sink;  but  the  rudest  Roman 
or  Jewish  soldier  would  have  turned  with  loathing  from  them  and 
their  bribe  in  a  case  like  this. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  MATTHEW  685 

Ch.  xxviir.  16-20 

16  But  the  eleven  disciples  went  into  Galilee,  to  the  mountain 
where  lesous  had  appointed  them.  17  And  when  they  saw  him, 
they  worshipped  him;  but  some  doubted.  18  And  lesous  came  to 
them  and  spoke  to  them,  saying: 

"All  authority  has  been  given  me  in  the  sky  and  on  earth.  19 
Go,  therefore,  and  convert  all  nations  into  disciples,  lustrating  them 
into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  sacred  Air; 
20  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  enjoined 
you.  And  behold,  I  am  with  you  all  the  days,  until  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  aeon." 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  three  accounts  of  the  resurrection  there  is  an  irreconcilable 
conflict  of  testimony.  When  the  women  come  to  the  tomb  they  find, 
according  to  Mark,  that  the  stone  has  been  rolled  away,  and  on 
entering  the  tomb  they  see  there  a  young  man  ;  as  they  approach  the 
tomb,  according  to  Matthew,  there  is  an  earthquake,  and  they  see  a 
Divinity  descend  from  the  sky,  roll  away  the  stone,  and  seat  himself 
on  it ;  as  they,  and  other  women  with  them,  come  to  the  tomb,  ac- 
cording to  Luke,  they  discover  that  the  stone  has  been  rolled  away, 
but  there  is  no  one  in  sight,  and  on  entering  the  tomb  they  find  it 
empty,  even  the  corpse  having  disappeared,  and  then  two  men  ap- 
pear to  them.  The  "young  man"  of  Mark  and  the  "two  men"  of 
Luke  are  evidently  Divinities.  The  wholly  spurious  endings  of  the 
Synoptics  are  even  more  wildly  discordant.  The  forgery  appended 
to  Liikc  is  a  long  and  prosy  effusion,  in  the  same  style  as,  and  evi- 
dently intended  to  lead  up  to,  Tlie  Acts  of  the  Apostles— 3.  work 
that  is  entirely  fraudulent,  whether  penned  by  the  compiler  of  Luke 
or  by  some  other  priestly  Munchausen. 


[[THE  GOOD  TIDINGS]]  ACCORDING 
TO  LUKE 

Chapter  i.   1-4 

I  Since,  indeed,  many  have  attempted  to  compose  a  narrative 
concerning  the  events  which  have  been  fully  established  among  us, 
2  even  as  the  original  eye-witnesses  and  those  coming  to  be  [their] 
assistants  [in  the  promulgation]  of  the  doctrine  have  handed  them 
down  to  us,  3  I  determined  that  I  also,  who  have  traced  all  [these 
traditions]  accurately  from  their  source,  should  write  [them]  down 
consecutively  for  you,  most  illustrious  Theophilos,  4  so  that  you 
might  renew  w'ith  certainty  your  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  in 
which  you  have  been  orally  instructed. 

COMMENTARY 

The  author  of  this  obscurely  worded  preface  indirectly  admits 
that  he  had  never  met  any  of  the  disciples  of  lesous  or  even  their 
direct  successors.  He  claims  only  to  have  arranged  in  proper 
sequence  certain  reports  which  in  his  day  had  become  confused  tra- 
ditions ;  and  this  compilation  was  made  by  him  because  he  was  dis- 
satisfied with  the  attempts  of  others  to  frame  a  coherent  narrative 
of  these  traditions.  He  was  not  inventing  the  "history,"  but  was 
only  rewriting  it ;  and  evidently  at  the  date  when  he  wrote  all  the 
contemporaries  of  lesous  were  supposed  to  have  joined  the  silent 
majority.  Theophilos,  however  noble  and  distinguished  he  may 
have  been  in  his  own  day — if  he  ever  had  any  existence  outside  the 
imagination  of  Loukas  or  lAicanus,  or  whatever  may  have  been  his 
name,  who  compiled  this  Gospel — is  now  known  to  fame  only  in 
this  preface  and  in  the  corresponding  introduction  to  Acts,  in  which 
he  is  not  termed  illustrious.  As  he  had  been  "catechetically  in- 
structed," it  is  to  be  inferred  that  he  was  a  catechumen ;  and  the  cate- 

686 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  687 

chumenical  system  was  not  instituted  till  some  time  in  the  second 
century. 

The  compiler  of  Luke,  who  was  also  very  probably  the  author  of 
Acts,  understood  full  well  that  he  was  converting  mvths  into  his- 
tory, and  writing  fiction  which  was  to  be  imposed  upon  the  credu- 
lous as  truth.  His  words  have  no  ring  of  sincerity ;  and  though  he 
professes  to  have  written  a  consecutive  narrative,  he  has  in  fact  only 
followed  the  text  of  Mark,  making  no  real  improvements  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  incidents  in  the  narrative;  and  though  he  has 
added  much  new  matter  to  it,  the  greater  part  of  his  contributions 
are  worthless  forgeries.  Save  two  parables,  that  of  the  Prodigal 
Son  and  that  of  the  Lost  Piece  of  Silver,  there  is  hardly  anything 
of  value  that  is  peculiar  to  Luke;  and,  on  the  other  hand.  Matthezv 
contains  allegories  that  are  not  given  in  the  other  Gospels. 

Ch.  I.  5-25 

5  In  the  days  of  Herod,  ruler  of  Judaea,  there  lived  a  certain 
priest  named  Zacharias,  of  the  course  of  Abijah ;  and  his  wife  was 
of  the  daughters  of  Aaron,  and  her  name  was  Elisabeth.  6  And 
they  were  both  of  upright  conduct  before  God,  walking  blameless 
in  all  the  Master's  commandments  and  ordinances.  7  And  they 
had  no  child,  inasmuch  as  Elisabeth  was  barren,  and  they  both  were 
far  gone  in  their  days. 

8  Now  it  came  to  pass,  while  he  was  performing  his  sacerdotal 
services  in  the  order  of  his  course,  9  according  to  the  rite  of  the 
sacerdotal  service,  it  was  allotted  him  to  enter  the  Master's  sanc- 
tuary and  burn  incense.  10  And  at  the  hour  of  incense  all  the  mul- 
titude of  the  people  were  praying  outside.  11  And  to  him  there 
appeared  a  Divinity  of  the  Master,  standing  on  the  right-hand  side 
of  the  altar  of  incense.  12  And  on  seeing  him  Zacharias  was  agi- 
tated, and  fear  fell  upon  him.     13  But  the  Divinity  said  to  him  : 

"Fear  not,  Zacharias;  for  your  entreaty  has  been  heard,  and  your 
wife  Elisabeth  shall  give  birth  to  a  son  for  you,  and  you  shall  call 
his  name  loannes.  14  And  he  shall  be  to  you  a  cause  of  joy  and 
exultation  ;  and  many  shall  rejoice  at  his  birth.  15  For  he  shall  be 
mighty  before  the  Master;  and  'he  shall  not  at  all  drink  zvine  and 


688  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

intoxicating  liquor/  but  even  from  liis  mother's  womb  he  shall  be 
filled  with  the  sacred  Air.  i6  And  many  of  the  sons  of  Israel 
shall  he  turn  to  their  Master-God  ;  17  and  he  shall  draw  near  before 
him  in  the  spirit  and  [prophetic]  power  of  Elijah,  'to  turn  the  fa- 
thers' hearts  to  the  children/  and  the  contumacious  [to  conduct 
themselves]  with  the  high-mindedness  of  the  virtuous — to  make 
ready  for  the  Master  a  people  prepared  [for  his  kingdom]." 

18  And  Zacharias  said  to  the  Divinity: 

"By  what  am  I  to  know  this  ?  For  I  am  an  old  man,  and  my  wife 
is  far  gone  in  her  days." 

19  And  the  Divinity,  answering,  said  to  him: 

"I  am  Gabriel,  the  attendant  before  God,  and  I  was  sent  to  speak 
to  you,  and  to  announce  to  you  these  good  tidings ;  20  and  behold, 
you  are  to  be  silent  and  not  able  to  speak  till  the  day  in  which  these 
things  befall,  because  you  did  not  believe  my  statements,  which  shall 
be  fulfilled  in  their  season." 

21  And  the  people  were  expecting  Zacharias,  and  they  wondered, 
at  his  delaying  in  the  sanctuary.  22  But  when  he  came  out,  he  was 
not  able  to  speak  to  them ;  and  they  recognized  that  he  had  seen  a 
vision  in  the  sanctuary.  And  he  kept  gesticulating  to  them,  and  re- 
mained dumb.  22  And  it  befell,  when  the  days  of  his  service  were 
fulfilled,  he  departed  to  his  house. 

24  Now,  after  these  days  Elisabeth  his  wife  conceived,  and  she 
hid  herself  five  months,  saying: 

25  "The  Master  has  done  this  to  me  in  the  days  in  which  he 
looked  upon  [me],  to  take  away  my  reproach  among  men." 

COMMENTARY 

The  Jewish  priests  were  divided  into  twenty-four  courses,  or 
"shifts,"  each  course  attending  to  the  various  rites  for  eight  days, 
or  from  sabbath  to  sabbath. 

This  story  of  the  prediction  of  a  Nazarite's  birth  from  a  barren 
woman  is  but  a  homely  plagiarism  of  the  really  beautiful  original 
in  Judges  xiii.  2-20,  w^here  the  angel  predicts  that  the  barren  wife 
of  Manoah  wnll  bear  the  Nazarite  Samson.  (By  more  accurate 
transliteration,  the  name  Samson  becomes  Shimson,  and  Nazarite 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  689 

becomes  Nazirite.)     In  imitation  of  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Isaac, 
the  mother  of  loannes  is  made  aged  as  well  as  barren. 

Gabriel  is  one  of  the  seven  planetary  Gods,  who  are  attendants 
on  the  Sun,  circling  about  his  golden  throne,  wherefore  they  are 
called  in  Christian  mythology  **the  seven  Angels  of  the  Presence." 
His  name,  which  signifies  "Strong  Man  of  God,"  identifies  him 
with  Mars  (Ares),  who  occupies  Scorpio  as  his  zodiacal  house,  and 
is  primarily  the  God  of  Generation. 

Ch.  I.  26-38 

26  And  in  the  sixth  month  the  Divinity  Gabriel  was  sent  from 
God  into  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazaret,  27  to  a  maiden  affianced 
to  a  man  named  loseph,  of  the  house  of  David;  and  the  maiden's 
name  was  Mariam.  28  And  entering  her  house,  [[the  Divinity]] 
said: 

"Hail,  maiden  highly  favored!  The  Master  [is]  with  you. 
[[Blessed  are  you  among  women!]]" 

29  But  she  [[on  seeing  him]]  was  troubled  at  [[his]]  saying, 
and  was  considering  what  kind  of  salutation  this  might  be.  30  And 
the  Divinity  said  to  her : 

"Fear  not,  Mariam;  for  you  have  found  favor  with  God.  31 
And  behold,  you  shall  conceive  in  your  womb  and  bring  forth  a  son, 
and  you  shall  call  his  name  lesous.  32  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall 
be  called  'Son  of  the  Highest' ;  and  the  Master-God  shall  give  him 
the  throne  of  his  father  David ;  ^;^  and  he  shall  reign  over  the 
house  of  Jacob  throughout  the  seons,  and  there  shall  be  no  limit  to 
his  kingdom," 

34  Biit  Mariam  said  to  the  Divinity : 

"How  is  this  to  happen,  since  I  do  not  know  a  man  ?" 

35  And  the  Divinity  answered  and  said  to  her: 

"The  sacred  Air  shall  come  upon  you,  and  the  [generative]  power 
of  the  Highest  [God]  shall  overshadow  you;  on  which  account, 
also,  the  sacred  [body]  which  is  being  generated  shall  be  called 
'God's  Son.'  36  And  behold,  Elisabeth,  your  kinswoman — she  also 
has  conceived  a  son  in  her  old  age,  and  this  is  the  sixth  month 


690  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

to  her,  the  so-called  barren  woman.     37  For  'no  zvurd  shall  he  im- 
potent ivith  God.' " 

38  And  Mariam  said  : 

"Behold,  [I  am]  the  Master's  slave-girl;  let  it  be  done  to  me 
according  to  your  word." 

COMMENTARY 

Gabriel,  one  of  the  seven  sublime  planetary  attendants  of  the  Sun- 
God,  here  continues  to  fulfil  his  mission  as  forerunner  of  the  stork. 
Having  delivered  the  divine  message  that  loannes  was  to  be  incar- 
nated, not  by  a  young  and  capable  mother,  but  by  an  aged  and 
barren  woman  whose  fading  vitality  and  unsupple  frame  should 
have  been  spared  the  ordeal,  he  now  announces  to  a  young  unmar- 
ried woman  that  she  is  to  become  the  mother  of  a  son  through  the 
"favor"  of  God.  She  was  not  God's  blushing  bride,  but  was  al- 
ready betrothed  to  a  worthy  mortal.  Mariam  offers  no  objections; 
it  would  have  complicated  matters  if  she  had  modestly  refused  com- 
pliance. According  to  the  text  of  Luke,  I5seph,  the  mere  man,  is 
not  consulted,  and  no  apologies  are  offered  to  him.  He  is  supposed 
to  rejoice  when  he  finds  that  his  bride-to-be  has  already  been  "over- 
shadowed" by  the  "power  of  the  Highest." 

Verses  28-30  are  also  in  the  Apocryphal  Gospel  of  Mary.  The 
name  Elisabeth  is  spelled  Elisabet  and  Eleisabet  in  the  text ;  and 
in  some  passages  IMariam  is  given  the  Latin  name  Maria.  Nazaret 
is  spelled  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  loannes  sometimes  appears  as 
loanes. 

Ch.  I.  39-45 

39  And  Mariam  arose  in  these  days  and  went  with  haste  into  the 
hilly  [country],  into  a  city  of  Judah,  40  and  entered  into  the  house 
of  Zacharias  and  saluted  Elisabeth.  41  And  it  happened  that  as 
Elisabeth  heard  Mariam's  salutation  the  foetus  frisked  in  her  belly, 
and  Elisabeth  was  filled  with  the  sacred  Air ;  42  and  she  exclaimed 
in  a  loud  voice  and  said  : 

"Blessed  are  you  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  your 
belly !  43  And  whence  can  this  be  to  me,  that  my  Master's  mother 
should  come  to  me?    44  For  behold,  as  the  sound  of  your  saluta- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  691 

tlon  reached  my  ears,  the  foetus  in  my  belly  frisked  in  exultation. 
45  And  blessed  [is]  the  woman  who  has  believed;  for  there  shall 
be  a  fulfilment  of  the  things  spoken  to  her  from  the  Master." 

COMMENTARY 

loannes  is  here  in  the  sixth  month  of  his  intra-uterine  career,  and 
the  word  ySpei^o?  aptly  describes  him ;  but  the  precocity  he  displays 
in  thus  recognizing  lesous  is  the  more  remarkable  from  the  fact 
that  the  latter  is  in  the  first  month  of  embryonic  development  and 
not  entitled  to  be  called  even  a  foetus.  The  incident  of  the  prenatal 
rejoicing  of  loannes  at  meeting  his  embryonic  Master  is  told  in 
coarse  vernacular,  which  it  would  be  useless,  if  not  dishonest,  to 
refine  in  translating;  for  even  when  ^pet^o?  is  rendered  "babe," 
and  /cotXia  "womb."  the  indelicate  and  ridiculous  story  refuses  to 
be  subdued. 

Ch.  I.  46-56 

46  And  Elisabeth  [[Alariam]]  said: 

"  'My  soul'  keeps  extolling  'tJie  Master/ 

47  And  my  spirit  'has  exulted  in  God,  my  Savior.' 

48  For  'he  has  looked  upon  the  humiliation  of  his  slave-girl' : 
For  behold,  from  now  on  all  generations  will  felicitate  me. 

49  For  the  Mighty  One  has  done  to  me  great  things. 
And  'his  name  is  holy.' 

50  And  'his  mercy  is  to  generations  aiid  generations 
For  those  who  fear  him.' 

51  He  has  wrought  a  mighty  deed  with  his  arm ; 

He  has  scattered  the  arrogant  by  the  intellect  of  their  heart. 

52  'He  has  cast  dozen  sovereigns  from  [their^  thrones/  and  'has 

exalted  the  humble.' 

53  'The  hungry  he  has  filled  zuith  dainties/  and  'he  has  sent  azvay 

empty  the  rich.' 


692  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

54  'Israel,  his  servant,  he  has  helped. 
That  he  might  remember  mercy' 

55  (Just  as  he  spoke  to  our  fathers) 

To  Abraham  and  his  seed  throughout  the  leon." 

56  And  Mariam  stayed  with  her  about  three  months,  and  re- 
turned to  her  house. 

COMMENTARY 

The  manuscripts  leave  it  an  open  question  whether  the  so-called 
Magnificat  was  improvised  by  Mariam  or  by  Elisabeth;  but  from 
its  general  tone  it  must  be  credited  to  the  latter,  the  barren  woman, 
who  has  been  "exalted"  by  her  approaching  maternity,  and  no 
longer  feels  the  "humiliation"  of  being  childless.  As  a  shabby  imi- 
tation of  Old  Testament  poetry,  which  it  copiously  quotes,  it  is  de- 
void of  literary  merit ;  but  evidently  the  later  revisers  of  the  text 
esteemed  it  too  beautiful  to  be  wasted  on  Elisabeth,  and  so  trans- 
ferred it  to  Mariam.  Neither  of  the  women,  however,  could  gain 
poetic  lustre  from  it. 

Ch.  I.  57-66 

57  Now  the  time  was  fulfilled  for  Elisabeth  in  which  she  should 
be  delivered,  and  she  gave  birth  to  a  son.  58  And  her  neighbors 
and  relatives  heard  that  the  Master  was  magnifying  his  mercy  with 
her,  and  they  rejoiced  with  her.  59  And  it  befell  that  on  the  eighth 
day  they  came  to  circumcise  the  young  child ;  and  they  kept  calling 
him  after  the  name  of  his  father  Zacharias.  60  And  his  mother 
answered  and  said : 

"Not  at  all ;  but  he  shall  be  called  loannes." 

61  And  they  said  to  her : 

"There  is  no  one  among  your  relatives  who  is  called  by  this 
name." 

62  And  they  made  gestures  to  his  father,  [to  ask]  what  he  might 
wish  to  have  him  called.  63  And  he  asked  for  a  small  writing- 
tablet,  and  wrote,  saying,  "His  name  is  loannes."  And  all  won- 
dered. 64  And  his  mouth  was  opened  forthwith,  and  his  tongue 
[loosed],  and  he  spoke,  blessing  God.    65  And  fear  came  upon  all 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  693 

the  residents  in  their  neighborhood ;  and  all  these  subjects  were 
being  talked  of  in  the  whole  hilly  [country]  of  Jud?ea.  66  And  all 
who  heard  them  laid  them  up  in  their  heart,  saying : 

"What  then  shall  this  young  child  be?  For  the  Master's  hand 
was  with  him." 

COMMENTARY 

Zacharias,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  stricken  dumb  by  Gabriel 
because  he  ventured  a  mild  expression  of  doubt  that  his  aged  and 
barren  wife  would  be  visited  by  the  stork;  but  nothing  was  said 
about  his  becoming  deaf.  His  relatives,  however,  have  to  convey 
their  ideas  to  him  by  means  of  the  sign-language :  they  "beckon" 
to  him.  He  is  dumb,  and  therefore  can  only  ask  for  a  writing- 
tablet.  How  he  "asked"  for  it  is  not  explained ;  but,  in  charity  to 
the  unskilful  forger,  it  may  be  assumed  that  Zacharias  also  talked 
by  beckoning.  When  his  vocal  organs  regain  their  function — as 
did  also  his  ears,  it  is  to  be  presumed — the  witnesses  of  the  miracle 
manifest  the  terror  and  amazement  which  the  forgers  never  neglect 
to  mention  on  such  occasions. 

Ch.  I.  67-80 

67  And  Zacharias,  his  father,  was  filled  with  the  sacred  Air,  and 
prophesied,  saying: 

68  "  'Blessed  [be]  the  Master,  the  God  of  Israel'; 

For  he  has  visited  and  brought  about  a  ransom  for  his  people, 

69  And  has  'raised  up  a  horn'  of  salvation  for  us 
In  the  house  of  his  servant  David 

70  (As  he  spoke  through  the  mouth  of  his  holy  primeval 

prophets)  : 

71  'Salvation  from  our  foes,  and  from  the  hand  of  all  'zi'ho 

hate  us'; 

72  To  deal  mercifully  with  our  fathers, 
And  to  'remember  his'  holy  'covenant,' 


694  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

73  The  oath  which  he  swore  to  Abraham,  our  father, 

To  grant  to  us  that,     74  having-  been  rescued  from  the  hand 

of  our  foes, 
We  should  serve  him  without  fear, 

75  In  hoHness  and  virtue  before  him  all  the  days  [  [of  our  life]]. 

'jd  And  you  also,  little  child,  shall  be  called  a  prophet  of  the 
Highest; 
For  you  shall  go  'before  the  face  of  the  Master  to  prepare  his 
ways' ; 
yy  That  he  may  give  the  knowledge  of  salvation  to  his  people 
By  the  remission  of  their  sins, 

78  Through  the  compassionate  heart  of  our  God, 

In  which  the  dawn  from  the  [Sun's]  exaltation  shall  visit  us, 

79  'To  shine  upon  those  who  are  sitting  in  darkness  and  Death's 

shadow' ; 
That  he  may  direct  our  feet  in  the  path  of  peace." 

80  And  the  little  boy  grew,  and  acquired  strength  in  spirit ;  and 
he  lived  in  the  deserts  until  the  day  of  his  inauguration  before  Is- 
rael. 

COMMENTARY 

And  now  Zacharias,  having  regained  the  use  of  his  tongue,  feel- 
ing the  divine  afflatus  and  not  yielding  the  palm  to  his  aged  wife, 
drops  into  poetry  even  as  she  had  burst  into  song.  Even  with  the 
ornaments  borrowed  from  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  the  poem  is  flat 
and  amateurish.  Judging  by  Elisabeth's  Magnificat  and  her  hus- 
band's inspired  utterances,  the  couple  were  not  only  "far  gone  in 
their  days."  but  were  also  verging  on  second  childhood.  Being  a 
Jewish  priest,  Zacharias  prophesies,  not  that  lesous  was  to  be  a 
World-Savior,  but  that  he  was  to  be  a  ransom  for  the  Jews ;  not  that 
he  would  declare  a  new  covenant,  but  that  he  would  confirm  the  old 
covenant  made  with  Abraham.  In  the  light  of  Jewish  history  it  is 
indisputable  that  as  a  prophet  the  senile  Zacharias  was  a  signal 
failure.     Apparently  the  gift  of  prophecy  did  not  run  in  the  fam- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  695 

ily;  for  his  son  loannes,  the  "prophet  of  the  Highest,"  was  unable 
to  recognize  the  Master  \vhen  he  came  (vii.  19). 

According  to  this  veracious  historical  narrative,  loannes  took  to 
the  desert  in  early  youth,  and  did  not  emerge  from  it  until  after  his 
"inauguration,"  or  assumption  of  the  office  of  Hierophant  of  the 
Water-rite  and  forerunner  of  lesous. 

Chapter  ii.  1-7 

I  Now  it  befell  in  those  days,  a  decree  went  out  from  Caesar  Au- 
gustus that  the  entire  inhabited  v.orld  should  be  registered;  2  (this 
first  registration  took  place  when  Cyrenius  was  governor  of  Syria) 
3  and  all  went  to  register  themselves,  each  to  his  own  city.  4  And 
loseph  also  went  from  Galilee,  out  of  the  city  of  Nazaret,  into  Ju- 
daea, to  the  city  of  David,  which  is  called  Bethlehem  (because  he 
was  of  the  house  and  family  of  David),  5  to  register  himself  with 
Mariam  his  betrothed  [[wife]],  she  being  pregnant.  6  And  it 
befell,  during  the  time  they  were  there,  that  the  days  were  fulfilled 
for  her  to  give  birth ;  7  and  she  brought  forth  her  first-bom  son ; 
and  she  wrapped  him  in  swaddling-clothes  and  laid  him  in  a  man- 
ger, because  there  was  no  place  for  them  in  the  inn. 

COMMENTARY 

The  parenthetical  clauses  in  verses  2  and  4  are  evidently  interpo- 
lations. The  Cyrenius  referred  to  may  have  been  Ouirinius,  but  if 
so  the  forger  is  guilty  of  an  anachronism.  The  governor  of  Syria 
during  the  last  days  of  Herod  was  Saturninus,  who  was  succeeded 
by  Varus,  after  whom  came  Ouirinius.  Even  if  the  whole  inhab- 
ited world  had  been  enrolled  to  its  most  secluded  nooks  and  corners, 
Nazareth  would  have  escaped  registration  and  taxation,  as  no  such 
city  existed. 

Mariam  is  called  the  "betrothed"  of  loseph,  although  she  was 
"great  with  child,"  and  in  that  precarious  condition  she  was  travel- 
ling with  loseph,  the  child  being  born  on  the  journey  and  presum- 
ably out  of  wedlock.  The  word  "wife"  is  an  emendation  by  some 
later  forger  who  recognized  the  impropriety  of  having  Mariam,  un- 
chaperoned  and  conspicuously  in  the   family  way,  accompanying 


696  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

loseph  and  lodging  with  him  in  the  stable  of  an  overcrowded  cara- 
vansary. Certainly  the  pair  were  in  no  haste  to  get  married;  and 
nowhere  in  Luke  is  a  marriage  mentioned.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  in  both  MattJicw  and  Luke  the  story  as  originally  written  said 
nothing  about  a  betrothal,  but  merely  introduced  loseph  and  Ma- 
riam  as  a  newly  wedded  couple,  the  betrothal  being  a  feature  added 
by  later  "historians,"  who  indulged  the  theological  conceit  that  the 
miraculous  pregnancy  would  be  more  chaste  for  a  maiden  than  for 
a  married  woman,  since  the  latter  might  be  considered  guilty  of 
unfaithfulness  to  her  marriage-vow.  Also  by  being  born  of  a  virgin 
lesous  ranks  among  the  many  pagan  heroes  who  were  the  progeny 
of  Gods  and  mortals. 

Ch.  II.  8-20 

8  And  in  the  same  country  were  shepherds  living  in  the  open 
air,  guarding  their  flocks  during  the  night-watches.  9  And  [  [be- 
hold,]] a  Divinity  of  the  Master  stood  by  them,  and  around  them 
shone  the  Master's  glory;  and  they  were  in  great  fear.  10  And  the 
Divinity  said  to  them  : 

"Fear  not ;  for  behold,  I  announce  to  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy  which  shall  be  to  all  the  people.  1 1  For  there  has  been  born 
to  you  to-day  a  Savior  (who  is  [the]  Anointed  Master)  in  the  city 
of  David.  12  And  this  [is]  the  sign  to  you:  you  shall  find  a  new- 
born babe  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes,  and  lying  in  a  manger." 

13  And  on  a  sudden  there  appeared  with  the  Divinity  a  throng 
of  the  celestial  army  praising  God,  and  saying: 

14  "Glory  to  God  among  those  dwelling  on  high,  and  on  earth 
peace  among  men  of  right  intent." 

15  And  it  befell  that  when  the  Divinities  had  departed  into  the 
sky,  the  shepherds  said  to  one  another : 

"Let  us  pass  along  now  as  far  as  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  subject 
that  has  occurred,  which  the  Master  has  made  known  to  us." 

16  And  they  came  in  haste,  and  found  both  Mariam  and  I5seph, 
and  the  new-born  babe  lying  in  the  manger.  17  And  having  seen 
it,  they  made  known  concerning  the  saying  which  had  been  spoken 
to  them  about  this  little  boy,     18  And  all  who  heard  it  wondered 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  697 

concerning  the  things  which  had  been  spoken  to  them  by  the  shep- 
herds. 19  But  Mariam  kept  carefuHy  [in  mind]  all  these  sayings, 
pondering  them  in  her  heart.  20  And  the  shepherds  returned,  glori- 
fying and  praising  God  for  all  the  things  which  they  had  heard  and 
seen,  as  it  had  been  said  to  them. 

COMMENTARY 

This  incident  of  the  annunciation  to  the  shepherds,  though  beau- 
tiful, is  somewhat  out  of  keeping  with  the  narrative  as  a  whole. 
For,  taking  the  story  literally,  there  is  no  important  purpose  indi- 
cated for  the  Gods  ("angels")  to  give  their  direct  testimony  to 
only  a  few  humble  rustics ;  and,  in  fact,  no  commensurate  results 
follow  their  action.  The  story  was  probably  copied  from  some  an- 
cient myth ;  for  the  compilers  of  the  Synoptics  were  incapable  of 
producing  original  work  of  any  merit.  The  story  also  has  a  dis- 
tinctly pagan  coloring.  The  epithet  sofcr,  "savior,"  was  so  obvi- 
ously a  theft  from  pre-Christian  Gnosticism  that  early  Christian 
writers  were  chary  about  using  it :  tlius  Irenaeus  throws  it  back  at 
the  Gnostics  in  speaking  to  them  of  "your  sotcr."  Stables  in  the 
Orient  were  often  caves  excavated  in  the  hillsides  as  cheap  and  cool 
shelters  for  horses.  The  Stable  of  Augeas  was  a  cave,  and  astro- 
nomically it  is  associated  with  Capricornus,  while  the  Asses  (0>ioi) 
and  the  Manger  (Phatnc)  are  in  the  opposite  sign.  Cancer.  Now, 
cTTreo?,  "cave,"  and  cnrdpyavov ,  "swaddling  band,"  alike  give  the 
number  555,  that  of  eVt^v/ata,  "desire,"  the  principle  which  impels 
the  soul  to  incarnate ;  and  Capricornus  and  Cancer,  at  the  Summer 
and  the  Winter  Solstice,  are  the  two  "gates"  through  which  the 
soul  was  said  to  descend  to  earth  and  ascend  to  the  heaven-world. 
In  Christian  mythology  (which  is  simply  pagan  mythology  mas- 
querading as  history)  lesous  is  born  on  the  day  of  the  Winter  Sol- 
stice, while  the  nativity  of  his  alter  ego,  loannes  the  "Baptizer,"  is 
placed  on  the  day  of  the  Summer  Solstice.  Hence  loannes  says  of 
lesous  {John  iii.  30),  "It  is  for  him  to  go  on  increasing,  and  for 
me  to  be  ever  getting  less" ;  for  here  lesous  stands  for  the  Sun  in 
ascension,  and  loannes  for  the  Sun  in  declension.  For  this  astro- 
nomical reason  lesous  is  conceived  just  six  months  later  than  I5an- 


698  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

nes  is.  But  while  lesoiis  was  thus  appropriately  born  in  the  Stable 
of  Augeas,  in  Capricornus.  it  is  the  infant  loannes  who  should  have 
been  laid  in  the  Manger,  in  Cancer.  The  latter  sign  is  also  the 
zodiacal  "desert,"  as  it  has  no  brilliant  stars.  The  compiler  of  Luke, 
however,  was  not  versed  in  astronomical  myths ;  he  was  recording 
historical  events  that  had  become  "fully  established"  on  the  testi- 
mony of  eye-witnesses.  His  weakness  for  borrowing  things,  even 
from  the  widely  read  writings  of  Josephus,  betrays  itself  both  in 
Luke  and  in  Acts:  thus  Acts  v.  34-37  was  "borrowed"  from  An- 
tiquities XX.  v.  97. 

Ch.  II.  21-40 

21  And  when  eight  days  were  fulfilled  for  circumcising  him,  his 
name  was  called  lesous,  the  [name]  which  he  was  called  by  the 
Divinity  before  he  was  conceived  in  the  belly.  22  And  when  "the 
days  of  their  purification  were  fulfilled"  according  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  they  brought  him  to  Jerusalem,  to  dedicate  him  to  the  Mas- 
ter 23  (as  it  is  written  in  the  Master's  law,  "Every  male  opening 
the  womb  shall  be  called  devoted  to  God"),  24  and  that  they  might 
offer  a  sacrifice  according  to  that  which  is  said  in  the  Master's  law, 
''A  pair  of  turtledoves,  or  tzvo  young  pigeons." 

25  And  behold,  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem  whose  name  was 
Symeon,  and  this  man  was  virtuous  and  circumspect,  waiting  for 
the  consolation  of  Israel ;  and  upon  him  was  the  sacred  Air.  26 
And  it  was  divinely  communicated  to  him  by  the  sacred  Air  that 
he  should  not  see  death  before  he  had  seen  the  Master's  Anointed. 

27  And  he  came,  [impelled]  by  the  Air,  into  the  temple;  and  when 
the  parents  brought  in  the  little  child  lesous,  that  they  might  sacri- 
fice [the  brace  of  birds]  on  his  account,  after  the  custom  of  the  law, 

28  he  also  received  him  into  his  arms,  and  praised  God,  and  said : 

29  "Now,  O  Lord,  let  thy  slave  depart 
In  peace,  according  to  thy  promise ; 

30  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 

31  Which  before  the  face  of  all  peoples  thou  hast  prepared, 

32  'A  light  for  the  initiation  of  the  profane/ 
And  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  699 

33  And  his  father  [[loseph]]  and  his  mother  were  wondering- 
at  the  things  which  were  being  said  about  him ;  34  and  Symeon 
blessed  them,  and  said  to  Mariam  his  mother: 

"Behold,  this  [child]  is  destined  for  the  downfall  and  the  resur- 
rection of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign  that  is  decried  35  (and 
[[also]]  a  sword  shall  transfix  your  own  soul)  so  that  the  reason- 
ings of  many  hearts  may  be  unveiled." 

36  And  there  was  [a  certain]  Anna,  a  seeress,  the  daughter  of 
Phanouel,  of  the  tribe  of  Asher  (she  was  far  gone  in  many  days, 
having  lived  with  a  husband  seven  years  since  her  maidenhood,  37 
and  [as]  a  widow  as  long  as  eighty- four  years),  who  did  not  leave 
the  temple,  [but  continued]  serving  [God]  with  fastings  and  sup- 
plications night  and  day.  38  And  coming  up  at  that  very  hour 
she  openly  confessed  the  Master,  and  spoke  concerning  him  to  all 
those  who  were  waiting  for  the  redemption  of  Jerusalem.  39  And 
when  they  had  completed  all  things  that  were  according  to  the  Mas- 
ter's law,  they  returned  to  Galilee,  to  their  own  city,  Nazaret. 

40  And  the  little  boy  grew,  and  acquired  strength  [[in  spirit]], 
being  filled  with  learning ;  and  God's  grace  was  upon  him. 

COMMENTARY 

From  the  starry  heights  the  narrative  drops  abruptly  to  the 
homely  observances  of  the  Jewish  law,  but  it  swiftly  ascends  again 
to  the  celestial  regions  when  it  has  the  venerable  Kronos  and  his 
wife  Rhea,  disguised  as  Symeon  and  Anna,  utter  prophecies  and 
blessings  over  the  circumcised  lesous.  True,  the  great  Goddess  of 
the  temples  here  wears  another  name,  and  poses  as  a  widow ;  but 
her  constantly  remaining  in  the  temple,  and  the  roundabout  state- 
ment of  her  age,  betray  her  identity.  Allowing  the  usual  fifteen 
years  (according  to  Greek  usage)  for  her  "virginity,"  the  seven 
years  of  wedded  life  and  eighty-four  of  widowhood  (though  the 
Greek  here  is  dubious)  would  fix  her  "great  age"  at  one  hundred 
and  six  years;  and  the  numerical  value  of  'Pea  (Rhea)  is  106. 
But  by  rendering  €a>?  "even  unto,"  the  revised  version  fixes  her 
"great  age"  at  only  eighty-four  years.  The  parenthetical  clause 
giving  the  age  of  x\nna  and  thereby  identifying  her  with  Rhea  was 


700  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

probably  inserted  by  an  unorthodox  interpolator,  and  it  is  to  be 
classed  with  the  derisive  additions  to  the  ^genealogical  table  in  Mat- 
thew. In  the  Apocalypse  (xviii.  7)  the  Woman  in  scarlet,  who  is 
Rhea  as  a  fallen  Goddess,  asserts  that  she  is  "not  a  widow,"  thereby 
contradicting  Luke.  Kronos,  in  his  later  aspect  as  God  of  Time, 
might  well  feel  assured  that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  depart  until 
the  Immortal  Self  was  born,  bringing  about  the  downfall  of  all 
that  is  base  in  man's  nature,  the  resurrection  of  all  the  divine  quali- 
ties that  are  dead  in  the  carnal  man,  and  the  unveiling  of  the 
thoughts  of  the  heart.  In  the  "sign  that  is  decried"  orthodox  exege- 
tists  see  the  cross ;  but  as  the  passage  seems  to  have  been  plagiarized 
from  pagan  mythology,  the  decried  sign  may  have  been  originally 
the  astrological  sign  Scorpio,  and  the  "sword"  that  of  Ares,  the 
Regent  of  the  sign. 

Ch.  II.  41-52 

41  And  his  parents  went  yearly  to  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  of  the 
passover.  42  And  when  he  came  to  be  twelve  years  old,  they  went 
up  [[to  Jerusalem]]  according  to  the  custom  of  the  festival;  43 
and  when  they  had  finished  the  days,  as  they  were  returning,  the 
boy  lesous  remained  behind  in  Jerusalem ;  and  his  parents  did  not 
know  it,  44  but  supposing  him  to  be  in  the  company,  they  went 
a  day's  journey;  and  they  searched  for  him  among  their  relatives 
and  acquaintances,  45  and  not  finding  him,  they  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem, seeking  for  him.  46  And  it  befell  after  three  days  they 
found  him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  teachers,  both 
listening  to  them  and  putting  questions  to  them ;  47  and  all  his 
hearers  were  amazed  at  his  intelligence  and  his  answers.  48  And 
when  they  saw  him,  they  were  astonished;  and  his  mother  said  to 
him : 

"Son,  why  have  you  treated  us  in  this  manner?  Behold,  your 
father  and  I,  tormenting  ourselves,  were  searching  for  you." 

49  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Why  is  it  that  you  were  searching  for  me?  Did  you  not  know 
that  it  behooves  me  to  be  about  my  Father's  [affairs]  ?" 

50  And  they  did  not  understand  the  saying  which  he  spoke  to 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  701 

them.  51  And  he  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to  Nazaret,  and 
was  an  obedient  [son]  to  them.  And  his  mother  carefully  kept  all 
these  subjects  in  her  heart.  52  And  lesous  "increased"  in  learning 
and  manhood,  "and  in  grace  with  God  and  men." 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  was  probably  suggested  by  a  passage  in  Josephus'  Life 
(p.  2),  in  which  the  historian  modestly  tells  us  that  when  a  child 
he  had  great  memory  and  understanding,  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen had  acquired  so  great  a  store  of  learning  that  the  priests  and 
principal  men  of  the  city  frequently  consulted  him  on  difficult 
points  of  the  law.  But  the  plagiarist  has  discreetly  refrained  from 
attempting  to  set  down  any  of  the  profound  utterances  of  lesous; 
and  in  referring  to  the  physical  and  mental  development  of  the  child 
he  merely  repeats,  with  a  slight  change  of  wording,  what  has 
already  been  said  of  him  (verse  40)  and  also  of  the  youthful  loan- 
nes  (i.  80).  The  excuse  offered  by  lesous  for  having  played  the 
truant  is  irrelevant  and  obscure;  the  failure  of  his  parents  to  under- 
stand it  reflects  no  discredit  on  their  intelligence. 

Chapter  hi.  1-14 

I  Now,  in  the  fifteenth   [year]  of  the  rule  of  Tiberius  Caesar, 
Pontius  Pilate  being  governor  of  Judaea,  and  Herod  being  tetrarch 
of  Galilee,  and  his  brother  Philip  tetrarch  of  the  region  of  Ituraea 
and  Trachonitis,  and  Lysanias  tetrarch  of  Abilene,     2  in  the  high- 
priesthood  of  Annas  and  Caiaphas,  the  word  of  God  came  upon 
loannes,  the  son  of  Zacharias,  in  the  desert.     3  And  he  w^ent 
into  all  the  circumjacent  region  of  the  Jordan,  proclaiming  the 
lustration  of  reform  for  emancipation  from  sins,    4  as  is  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  the  oracles  of  Isaiah  the  seer,  saying: 
"The  voice  of  one  who  in  the  desert  keeps  shouting, 
'The  Master's  way  prepare  ye, 
Make  yc  his  pathiuays  straight.' 
5  Every  ravine  shall  be  filled  up, 

And  every  inouJitain  and  Jiill  sliall  be  made  low; 


702  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  the  tortuous  windings  shall  become  a  straight  [path], 
And  the  rough  roads  smooth; 

6  x4nd  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God." 

7  He  said,  therefore,  to  the  crowds  who  went  out  to  be  lus- 
tra ted  by  him: 

"O  brood  of  vipers,  who  secretly  warned  you  to  flee  from  the 
divine  frenzy  impending?  8  Produce,  therefore,  fruits  worthy 
of  reform,  and  do  not  begin  to  say  within  yourselves,  'We  have 
Abraham  for  our  father';  for  I  say  to  you,  From  these  stones 
God  is  able  to  raise  up  children  to  Abraham.  9  And  even  now 
the  axe  is  being  applied  to  the  root  of  the  trees ;  therefore  every 
tree  that  does  not  produce  [  [good]  ]  fruit  is  being  cut  down  and 
thrown  into  the  fire." 

10  And  the  common  people  asked  him,  saying: 
"Then  what  are  we  to  do?" 

1 1  And  he  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"He  who  has  two  tunics,  let  him  give  [one]  to  him  who  has 
none;  and  he  who  has  food,  let  him  do  likewise." 

12  Came  also  tax-collectors  to  be  lustrated,  and  said  to  him: 
"Teacher,  what  are  we  to  do?" 

13  And  he  said  to  them: 

"Exact  no  more  than  that  which  is  decreed  to  you." 

14  And  those  who  were  serving  as  soldiers  also  asked  him, 
saying : 

"What  are  we  to  do — even  we?" 
And  he  said  to  them: 

"Extort  from  no  one  by  violence,  nor  by  spying  and  false 
accusing;  but  be  content  with  your  wages." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  and  in  Acts  iv.  6  Annas  is  said  to  be  the  high-priest,  though 
he  had  been  deposed  in  the  year  15  by  Valerius  Gratus,  the  Roman 
procurator.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  that  Philip  was  tetrarch  of 
Ituraea. 

The  quotation  from  Isaiah  (xl.  3-5)  has  been  revised  to  suit  its 
new  environment:  "Yahveh"  is  discarded  for  "Master";  and  the 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  703 

words,  "the  glory  of  Yahveh  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall 
see  it  together,"  are  changed  to,  "all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of 
God." 

The  text  of  L\ike  is  here  more  complete  than  that  of  the  other 
Gospels:  each  of  the  four  castes  is  represented  at  the  ceremony, 
although  the  "Pharisees  and  Sadducees"  of  Matthciv  are  shielded 
in  Luke,  where  the  scathing  words  addressed  to  them  are  spoken 
instead,  very  inappropriately,  to  "the  crowds."  The  Pharisees  are 
always  treated  more  leniently  in  Litke  than  in  Matthezv.  The  dis- 
courses of  Toannes  have  been  shortened,  part  of  his  instructions 
being  credited  elsewhere  to  lesous,  even  as  Elisabeth,  the  mother 
of  the  "Baptizer,"  was  robbed  of  her  Magnificat  to  add  to  the  glory 
of  the  "Messiah's"  mother,  Mariam. 

Cii.  III.  15-17 

15  Now,  as  the  people  were  in  expectation,  and  all  were  de- 
liberating in  their  hearts  concerning  loannes,  whether  or  not 
he  might  be  the  Anointed,  16  Idannes  answered,  saying  to 
them  all: 

"I,  indeed,  lustrate  you  with  Water,  but  [a  lustrator]  is  com- 
ing who  is  mightier  than  I,  the  thong  of  whose  sandals  I  am 
not  strong  enough  to  untie :  he  shall  lustrate  you  with  sacred 
Air  and  Fire;  17  whose  winnowing-fan  is  in  his  hand,  to 
cleanse  thoroughly  his  threshing-floor,  and  to  gather  the  wheat 
into  his  granary;  but  the  chaff  he  will  burn  up  with  inextin- 
guishable fire." 

COMMENTARY 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  compiler  of  Luke  claims  to  be 
narrating  historical  events  the  actuality  of  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  credible  eye-witnesses.  But  when  many  of  the  actors  in 
the  "history"  are  discoverable  in  the  starry  heavens  and  among  the 
pagan  Gods,  a  suspicion  naturally  arises  that  these  eye-witnesses 
were  astronomical  observers  and  spectators  of  Greek  Mystery- 
pageants.  The  circumcised  "Son  of  David"  bearing  the  mystic 
Fan  of  Bakchos  does  not  present  a  convincingly  historical  figure. 


704  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  III.  18-20 

18  With  many  other  admonitions,  therefore,  he  announced 
good  tidings  to  the  people.  (19  But  Herod  the  tetrarch,  being 
rebuked  by  him  concerning  Herodias,  his  brother's  wife,  and 
concerning  all  the  wicked  things  which  Herod  had  done,  20 
added  this  also  to  them  all,  that  he  shut  up  loannes  in  prison.) 

COMMENTARY 

The  mendacious  statement  that  Toannes  was  imprisoned  is  here 
inserted  in  the  account  of  his  administering  the  water-rite,  and 
before  the  lustration  of  lesous!  It  takes  the  place  of  the  admoni- 
tions addressed  to  the  candidates  by  loannes,  these  admonitions 
having  been  transferred  to  the  discourses  of  lesous. 

Ch.  III.  21-38 

2 1  Now  it  befell,  when  all  the  people  had  been  lustrated,  and 
lesous  also  having  been  lustrated,  and  praying,  the  sky  was 
opened,  22  and  the  sacred  Air  descended  in  a  bodily  form,  like 
a  dove,  upon  him,  and  a  voice  issued  from  the  sky,  saying: 
"Thou  art  my  Son,  the  beloved;  of  thee  I  have  approved." 
23  Now  lesous'  self,  when  he  began  [his  initiation],  was 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  being,  as  was  reputed,  the  son  of 
loseph,  [whose  descent  is  traced  back  through]  Heli,  24 
Matthat,  Levi,  Melchi,  Jannai,  loseph,  25  Mattathias,  Amos, 
Nahum,  Esli,  Naggai,  26  Maath,  Mattathias,  Semein,  losech, 
Joda,  27  Joanan,  Rhesa,  Zerubbabel,  Salathiel,  Neri,  28 
Melchi,  Addi,  Kosam,  Elmadam,  Er,  29  lesous,  Eliezer,  Jorim, 
Matthat,  Levi,  30  Symeon,  loudas.  loseph,  Jonam,  Eliakim, 
31  Melea,  Menna,  Mattatha,  Nathan,  David,  32  Jesse,  Obed, 
Boaz,  Salmon,  Nahshon,  33  Amminadab,  Arni,  Hezron,  Perez, 
Judah,  34  Jacob,  Isaac,  Abraham,  Terah,  Nahor,  35  Serug, 
Reu,  Peleg,  Eber,  Shelah,  36  Kainan,  Arphaxad,  Shem,  Noah, 
Lamech,  37  Methuselah,  Enoch,  Jared,  Mahalaleel,  Kainan, 
38  Enos,  Seth,  [and]  Adam,  [to]  God. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  705 

COMMENTARY 

Here  a  theological  touch  has  been  added  to  the  consecration  of 
lesous  by  having-  him  pray,  and  a  materialistic  one  by  giving  the 
dove  "a  bodily  form."  In  some  manuscripts  the  benediction  from 
the  sky  is  a  quotation  from  Psalms  ii.  7,  ''Thou  art  my  son,  this 
day  have  I  begotten  thee."  As  God,  according  to  this  veracious 
history,  had  begotten  lesous  some  thirty  years  before,  the  statement 
here  could  be  made  only  in  a  mystical  sense.  One  would  expect 
that  the  Deity  would  manifest  great  originality  of  thought  and 
fluency  of  expression ;  it  is  disappointing  when,  on  so  solemn  an 
occasion,  he  merely  quotes  a  text  from  the  Hebrew  scriptures  and 
makes  no  comments  in  elucidation  of  it. 

There  is  a  lacuna  in  verse  23,  which  the  revisers  fill  in  with  the 
words  "to  teach."  But  here  lesous  is  not  beginning  to  teach,  but  is 
receiving  the  first  rite  of  initiation,  after  which  he  is  driven  to  the 
desert  and  subjected  to  temptations.  He  is  represented  as  having 
begun  to  teach  unofficially  at  the  tender  age  of  twelve. 

To  avoid  the  tedious  repetition  of  the  words,  "the  son  of,"  the 
list  of  the  ancestors  of  lesous  is  here  translated  in  a  simpler  form. 
The  genealogy,  compiled  from  the  Hebrew  writings  by  some  ig- 
noramus, is  merely  a  literary  curiosity.  The  "Jo^a,"  otherwise 
"loudas,"  of  verse  26  is  elsewhere  unknown,  as  is  also  the  "ances- 
tor" of  the  same  name  given  in  verse  30 ;  Shealtiel  is  transliterated 
as  Salathiel,  and  the  manuscripts  give  a  number  of  variations  of 
the  names,  as  Sala  for  Salmon,  Adam  or  Admin  for  Amminadab, 
and  Aram  for  Arni.  The  genealogy  can  not  be  reconciled  with  the 
one  in  Matthezv,  even  by  the  absurd  hypothesis  that  it  is  the  gene- 
alogy of  Mariam.  It  gives  the  descent  of  lesous  through  loseph, 
who  is  referred  to  as  his  putative  father,  and  does  not  even  mention 
Mariam.  While  the  historian  who  enriched  the  text  of  Matthezv 
was  content  to  trace  the  ancestors  of  lesous  back  to  King  David,  in 
Luke  lesous  is  shown  to  be  literally  descended  from  God,  whose 
"son"  Adam  was.  Now,  according  to  Genesis  (i.  7)  Adam  was  a 
manufactured  article,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he  could  be 
God's  "son" ;  the  poor  man  had  neither  father  nor  mother,  but 


7o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

only  a  "maker."  As  he  was  the  sire  of  all  mankind,  this  labored 
attempt  to  prove  that  lesotis  was  one  of  his  descendants  was  need- 
less. And  why  was  it  necessary  to  enumerate  seventy-six  progen- 
itors, who  must  all  be  regarded  as  "sons"  of  God,  when  the  list 
begins  with  the  putative  father  of  lesous,  Joseph,  the  real  father 
being  God  himself,  who  had  begotten  lesous  through  Mariam  be- 
fore Joseph  took  her  to  wife?  It  is  clear  that  whoever  drew  up  the 
table,  unless  he  was  feeble-minded,  regarded  Joseph  as  the  actual 
father  of  lesous,  and  that  the  words  w?  eVo/xi^ero,  "as  was  re- 
puted," were  foisted  in  the  text  after  the  doctrine  of  the  super- 
natural birth  had  been  invented ;  and  by  this  interpolation  the 
genealogy  v.as  made  even  more  foolish  than  it  was  in  the  first 
place. 

Chapter  iv.  1-13 

I  And  lesous,  full  of  the  sacred  Air,  returned  from  the  Jor- 
dan, and  was  carried  off  by  the  Air  into  the  desert  2  for  forty 
days,  being  made  trial  of  by  the  Accuser.  And  he  ate  nothing 
in  those  days;  and  when  they  were  completed,  he  w^as  hungry. 
3  And  the  Accuser  said  to  him : 

"Jf  you  are  a  Son  of  God,  speak  to  this  stone,  that  it  may  become 
a  loaf  of  bread." 

4  And  Jesous  answered  him : 

"It  is  written,  'Man  shall  not  live  on  bread  alone,  [[hut  on  every 
word  of  Godl,]r' 

5  And  leading  him  up  [[into  a  lofty  mountain,  the  Accuser]] 
showed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  inhabited  world  in  a  moment 
of  time.    6  And  the  Accuser  said  to  him  : 

"I  will  confer  on  you  all  this  authority,  and  their  glory;  for  it 
has  been  handed  down  to  me,  and  I  confer  it  on  whom.soever  I  will. 
7  If,  therefore,  you  will  worship  me,  it  shall  all  be  yours." 

8  And  Jesous  answered  and  said  to  him : 

"[[Get  behind  me,  Adversary;  for]]  it  is  written,  'Thy  Master- 
God  thou  shall  worsliip,  and  him  only  shall  thou  serve.'  " 

9  And  he  carried  him  off  to  Jerusalem  and  set  him  on  a  battle- 
ment of  the  temple,  and  said  to  him : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  707 

"If  you  are  a  Son  of  God,  hurl  yourself  from  hence;  10  for  it 
is  written : 

"  'He  shall  give  his  Divinities  charge  concerning  thee,  to  guard 
thee'    II  and, 

""  'They  shall  lift  you  up  in  their  hands, 

Lest  ever  you  strike  your  foot  against  a  stone.'  " 

12  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  him: 

"It  is  said,  'Thou  shalt  not  make  trial  of  thy  Master-God.'  " 

13  And  when  the  Accuser  had  finished  every  trial,  he  de- 
parted from  him  until  the  season. 

COMMENTARY 

Evidently  lesous  was  gazing  upon  a  flat  planet  when  he  stood  on 
the  mountain  overlooking  all  the  kingdoms  in  this  world. 

Matthezv  differs  from  Luke  in  transposing  the  order  of  two  of 
the  tests  or  trials.  As  there  could  hardly  have  hcen  any  disinter- 
ested "eye-witnesses"  to  these  doings,  information  concerning  them 
must  have  heen  derived  originally  from  either  lesous  or  Satan. 
It  is  clearly  intimated  that  the  Accuser  was  to  return  at  another 
"season,"  though  the  "history"  does  not  record  his  return.  ]Mysti- 
cally  the  four  seasons  represent  the  four  degrees  of  initiation. 

Ch.  IV.  14-30 

14  And  lesous  returned  in  the  power  of  the  Air  to  Galilee; 
and  a  rumor  concerning  him  went  out  through  the  whole  cir- 
cumjacent [country].  15  And  he  taught  in  their  synagogues, 
being  glorified  by  all.  16  And  he  came  to  Nazaret,  where  he 
had  been  brought  up;  and  he  entered,  according  to  his  custom 
on  the  sabbath  day,  into  the  S5magogue,  and  stood  up  to  read 
aloud.  17  And  the  book  of  Isaiah  the  seer  was  handed  over 
to  him ;  and  he  opened  the  book,  and  found  the  passage  where 
it  was  WTitten : 

18  "  'The  Spirit  of  the  Master  is  upon  me, 

Because  he  has  anointed  me  to  announce  good  tidings  to  the 
poor; 


7o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

He  has  sent  me  [[to  heal  the  broken-hearted,]]  to  proclaim 
deliverance  to  captives, 
And  recovery  of  sight  to  the  blind. 
To  send  azvay  the  crushed  in  deliverance, 
ig       To  proclaim  the  propitious  year  of  the  Master.'  " 
20  And  he  folded  up  the  book,  gave  it  back  to  the  attendant, 
and  sat  down;  and  the  eyes  of  all  in  the  synagogue  were  gazing 
intently  at  him.     21   And  he  began  to  say  to  them: 

"To-day  this  scripture  has  been  fulfilled  in  your  ears." 

22  And  all  were  testifying  for  him,  and  were  wondering  at  the 
sayings  of  grace  that  went  out  from  his  mouth;  and  they  said: 

"Is  not  this  Joseph's  son?" 

23  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Surely  you  will  say  to  me  this  proverb,  'Physician,  heal  your- 
self,' [and  say  also,]  'Whatever  [cures]  we  have  heard  have  oc- 
curred in  Kapernaum,  do  here  also  in  your  native  [city].'  " 

24  And  he  said: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  No  seer  is  acceptable  in  his  native 
[city].  25  But  in  truth  I  say  to  you.  There  w^re  many  widows 
in  Israel  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  when  the  sky  was  shut  up  three  years 
and  six  months,  when  a  great  famine  occurred  over  all  the  land; 
26  but  Elijah  was  sent  to  none  of  them  except  'to  Sarepta,  of 
Sidonia,  to  a  ividoiv-zvoman' ;  27  and  there  were  many  lepers  in 
Israel  at  the  time  of  Elisha  the  seer,  but  none  of  them  was  cleansed 
except  Naaman  the  Syrian." 

28  And  all  in  the  synagogue  were  filled  with  indignation  on 
hearing  these  things ;  29  and  they  rose  up,  and  threw  him  out 
of  the  city,  and  dragged  him  to  the  brow  of  the  mountain  on  which 
their  city  was  built,  that  they  might  hurl  him  headlong.  30  But 
he  passed  through  the  midst  of  them,  and  went  away. 

COMMENTARY 

In  the  oldest  manuscripts  it  is  said  that  lesous  "opened"  or  "un- 
folded" the  book,  the  forger  having  either  overlooked,  or  not 
knowing,  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  books  were  scrolls  wound  on 
rollers;  in  later  manuscripts  the  reading  has  been  changed  to  "un- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  709 

rolled,"  but  without  correcting  the  other  statement  that  he  "folded" 
the  book.  Having  closed  it,  he  states  that  the  drought  in  the  days 
of  Elijah  lasted  "three  years  and  six  months,"  whereas  if  he  had 
"opened"  the  scriptures  at  I  Kings  xviii.  i  he  Avould  have  learned 
that  rain  came  "in  the  third  year,"  not  in  the  fourth.  The  story 
is  far  better  told  in  the  other  Synoptics;  here  it  has  been  ruined  by 
an  impudent  attempt  to  improve  it  and  give  it  a  Jewish  coloring. 
Although  the  congregation  in  the  synagogue  gaze  at  lesous  with 
admiration,  and  testify  for  him,  he  uses  insulting  language  towards 
them,  whereupon  they  attempt  to  murder  him,  and  he  escapes  by 
using  his  magical  power. 

Ch.  IV.  31-44 

31  And  he  went  down  to  Kapernaum,  a  city  of  Galilee.  And  he 
was  teaching  them  on  the  sabbath  ;  32  and  they  were  astounded  at 
his  teaching;  for  his  doctrine  was  [based]  on  authority.  33  And 
in  the  synagogue  was  a  man  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  an  unclean 
ghost ;  and  he  shouted  with  a  loud  voice,    34  saying : 

"Ha!  What  [matters  it]  to  us  and  to  you,  Nazarene  lesous? 
Are  you  come  to  destroy  us?  I  know  you,  who  you  are — God's 
devotee." 

35  And  lesous  reproved  him,  saying: 

"Keep  quiet,  and  come  out  of  him." 

And  after  throwing  him  down  in  [their]  midst,  the  ghost  came 
out  of  him,  not  having  harmed  him  at  all.  36  And  astonishment 
came  upon  all,  and  they  spoke  to  one  another,  saying: 

"What  doctrine  is  this?  For  with  authority  and  efficacy  he  en- 
joins the  unclean  spirits — and  they  come  out!" 

37  x\nd  the  noise  concerning  him  went  out  into  every  section 
of  the  circumjacent  [country]. 

38  And  he  rose  up  from  the  synagogue,  and  entered  into  the 
house  of  Simon.  And  Simon's  mother-in-law  was  afflicted  with 
a  great  fever;  and  they  asked  him  about  her.  39  And  he  stood 
over  her  and  reproved  the  fever,  and  it  left  her;  and  forthwith 
she  arose  and  served  up  [a  dinner]  to  them. 


;io         THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

40  And  at  set  of  sun  all  those  who  had  [relatives]  infirm 
with  various  diseases  brought  them  to  him,  and  he  laid  his 
hands  on  every  one  of  them,  and  healed  them.  41  And  ghosts 
also  came  out  of  many,  screaming  and  saying : 

"Thou  art  [[the  Anointed,]]  the  Son  of  God!" 

And  he,  rebuking  them,  would  not  permit  them  to  speak,  be- 
cause they  knew  him  to  be  the  Anointed.  42  And  when  day 
came,  he  came  out  and  went  into  a  desert  place ;  and  the  crowds 
were  searching  for  him,  and  came  to  him,  and  kept  holding  him 
back,  that  he  might  not  go  from  them.    43  But  he  said  to  them : 

"It  is  necessary  for  me  to  announce  as  good  tidings  the  kingdom 
of  God  to  the  other  cities  also ;  for  I  was  sent  forth  for  this." 

44  And  he  was  proclaiming  [the  tidings]  in  the  synagogues  of 
Judeea  [[Galilee]]. 

COMMENTARY 

In  these  three  incidents  the  text  tamely  follows  that  of  Mark, 
with  slight  but  injudicious  variations.  The  wording  is  ludicrously 
crude,  as  in  the  tautologic  phrase,  "the  spirit  of  an  unclean  ghost." 
The  healing  of  Simon's  wife's  mother  precedes  the  choosing  of 
Simon  and  the  other  disciples,  whereas  in  Mark  and  Matthezv  it 
properly  follows  the  calling  of  the  four.  The  reading  "Galilee"  in 
verse  44,  in  the  received  text,  lacks  good  authority,  though  it  ac- 
cords with  Mark. 

Chapter  v.  i-ii 

I  And  it  befell,  while  the  crowds  were  pressing  upon  him  and 
listening  to  the  doctrine  of  God,  that  he  was  standing  by  the 
Lake  of  Gennesaret;  2  and  he  saw  two  [[little]]  ships  at  their 
moorings  by  the  lake ;  but  the  fishermen  had  disembarked  and 
were  washing  their  nets.  3  And  going  aboard  one  of  the  ships, 
which  was  Sim5n's,  he  asked  him  to  put  out  from  land  a  little ; 
and  he  sat  down,  and  from  the  ship  he  taught  the  crowds.  4 
And  when  he  had  ceased  speaking,  he  said  to  Simon: 

"Put  off  into  deep  water,  and  let  down  your  nets  for  a  haul." 

5  And  Sim5n  answered  and  said : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  711 

"Captain,  we  worked  hard  all  night,  and  caught  nothing;  but  at 
your  command  I  shall  let  down  the  nets." 

6  And  when  they  had  done  this  they  enclosed  a  great  shoal  of 
fishes,  and  their  nets  were  breaking.  7  And  they  beckoned  to  their 
partners  in  the  other  ship,  that  they  should  come  and  help  them ; 
and  they  came,  and  filled  both  the  ships,  so  that  they  were  sinking. 
8  And  Simon  Petros,  when  he  saw  it,  fell  at  the  knees  of  lesous, 
saying : 

"Depart  from  me;  for  I,  Master,  am  a  man  steeped  in  wicked- 
ness." 

9  For  astonishment  seized  him,  and  all  those  with  him,  at  the 
haul  of  fishes  which  they  had  taken;  10  and  in  like  manner 
lakdbos  and  loannes,  the  sons  of  Zebedaios,  who  were  share- 
takers  with  Simon,  [were  astonished].  And  lesous  said  to 
Simon : 

"Fear  not.     From  now  on  you  shall  be  catching  men." 

II  And  having  brought  their  ships  to  land,  they  left  every- 
thing, and  went  along  after  him. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Sea  of  spatial  ^ther  is  but  poorly  represented  by  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  and  here  the  latter  is  called  a  lake,  while  Argo  Navis  is 
converted  into  two  ships,  which  a  belated  "historian"  qualifies  as 
"little."  This  degradation  of  things  celestial  is  completed  by  the 
revisers,  who  boldly  change  the  ship  into  a  "boat,"  thus  giving  the 
word  ttKoiov  a  questionable  rendering.  In  verse  2  a  variant  read- 
ing, inconsistent  with  the  remainder  of  the  passage,  gives  the 
word  in  its  diminutive  form,  for  which  "boat"  is  the  correct  mean- 
ing. 

The  story  of  the  "miraculous  draught  of  fishes"  is  peculiar  to 
Luke.  It  does  not  necessarily  involve  anything  miraculous,  how- 
ever; but  it  certainly  is  a  "fish-story."  It  is  evidently  a  literalized 
version  of  the  allegory  in  Matthczv  xiii.  47,  48. 

The  compiler  of  Luke,  lacking  good  taste,  invariably  lowered  the 
tone  of  the  narrative  and  obscured  or  obliterated  its  allegorical 
meaning  when  adding  to  the  text  of  Mark  or  expanding  it. 


712  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Cii.  V.  12-16 

12  And  it  befell,  while  he  was  in  one  of  the  cities,  that  behold,  a 
man  full  of  leprosy  [came  to  him]  ;  and  when  he  saw  lesous,  he 
fell  on  his  face  and  requested  him,  saying: 

"Master,  if  you  are  willing,  you  can  purify  me." 

13  And  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and  touched  him,  saying: 
"I  am  willing;  be  purified." 

And  immediately  the  leprosy  went  away  from  him.  14  And  he 
enjoined  him  to  tell  no  one,  but  [said  to  Jiiin]  : 

"Go  and  show  yourself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  [sacrifice]  for 
your  purification,  as  directed  by  Moses,  for  a  testimony  to  them." 

15  But  the  report  concerning  him  became  even  more  prevalent; 
and  large  crowds  kept  coming  to  hear  [him],  and  to  be  healed  [[by 
him]]  of  their  infirmities.  16  But  he  kept  retiring  in  the  deserts 
and  praying. 

COMMENTARY 

Apparently  a  few  words  have  been  dropped  out  of  verse  14,  prob- 
ably by  a  careless  copyist,  for  the  sentence  changes  ungrammatically 
from  an  indirect  to  a  direct  quotation. 

The  phrase  "it  befell"  recurs  throughout  the  text  like  the  familiar 
"once  upon  a  time"  of  fairy  stories,  and  frequently  places  and  per- 
sons are  only  vaguely  designated;  here  "one  of  the  cities"  figures 
mistily  in  the  narrative,  which,  as  a  whole,  is  not  even  a  passable 
imitation  of  historical  wTiting. 

Ch.  v.  17-26 

17  And  it  befell  on  one  of  those  days  that  he  was  teaching, 
and  there  were  sitting  [in  the  assemblage]  Pharisees  and  law- 
teachers,  who  were  come  from  every  village  of  Galilee  and 
Judaea  and  Jerusalem :  and  the  power  of  the  Master  was 
[aroused]  that  he  should  heal.  18  And  behold,  [four]  men 
carry  on  a  bed  a  man  who  was  paralyzed ;  and  they  were  seek- 
ing to  bring  him  in  and  lay  him  before  him.  19  And  not  find- 
ing by  what   [way]   they  might  bring  him  in,  on  account  of 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  713 

the  crowd,  they  went  up  on  the  housetop  and  let  him  down 
through  the  tiles  with  his  couch  into  the  midst  before  lesous. 
20  And  seeing  their  faith,  he  said  [[to  him]] : 
"Man,  your  sins  are  remitted  to  you." 

21  And  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  began  to  argue,  saying: 
"Who  is  this  [man]  who  is  defaming  [God]  ?     Who  can  re- 
mit sins,  except  God  alone?" 

22  But  lesous,  having  discerned  by  his  intuitive  mind  their 
arguings,  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"Why  are  you  arguing  in  your  hearts?  23  Which  is  easier, 
to  say,  'Your  sins  are  remitted,'  or  to  say,  'Arise  and  walk'? 
24  But  that  you  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  has  authority 
on  earth  to  remit  sins,"  (he  said  to  the  paralytic,)  "I  say  to 
you,  Arise,  and  take  up  your  couch,  and  go  to  your  house." 

25  And  forthwith  he  rose  up  before  them,  and  took  up  the 
[couch]  on  which  he  used  to  lie,  and  departed  to  his  house, 
glorifying  God.  26  And  entrancement  possessed  [them]  all, 
and  they  glorified  God ;  and  they  were  filled  with  fear,  saying : 

"We  have  seen  marvels  to-day !" 

COMMENTARY 

This  event  befalls  "on  one  of  those  days."  but  in  what  city  we 
are  not  told.  According  to  Mark  it  happened  in  Kapernaum.  but 
according  to  Matthew  in  the  native  city  of  lesous,  that  is,  Xazaret. 
The  fact  that  there  were  four  litter-bearers  (who  are  important 
figures  in  the  allegory)  is  stated  only  in  Mark. 

Cii.  V.  27-39 

27  And  after  these  things  he  went  forth,  and  he  saw  a  tax- 
collector,  Levi  by  name,  sitting  at  the  custom-house,  and  said 
to  him: 

"Come  along  after  me." 

28  And  he  forsook  all,  and  rose  up,  and  went  along  after 
him. 

29  And  Levi  made  a  great  feast  for  him  at  his  house;  and 
there  was  a  great  crowd  of  tax-collectors  and  others,  who  were 


714  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

reclining  [at  table]  with  them.  30  And  the  Pharisees  and  the 
scribes  of  them  grumbled  at  his  disciples,  saying: 

"Why  do  you  eat  with  tax-collectors  and  immoral  men?" 

31  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"Those  who  are  sound  have  no  need  of  a  physician,  but  those 
who  are  ill.  32  I  have  not  come  to  call  the  virtuous,  but  the 
immoral,  to  reform." 

33  And  they  said  to  him: 

"[[Why  do]]  the  disciples  of  loannes  fast  frequently,  and 
likewise  the  [disciples]  of  the  Pharisees,  but  yours  keep  eating 
and  drinking?" 

34  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"Can  you  make  the  sons  of  the  bridechamber  fast,  while  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them?  35  But  the  days  will  come;  and 
when  the  l)ridegroom  shall  be  taken  away  from  them,  then  they 
shall  fast  in  those  days." 

36  And  he  spoke  also  an  allegory  to  them: 

"No  one  rips  a  patch  from  a  new  garment  and  puts  it  on  an 
old  garment,  otherwise  he  will  both  rip  the  new,  and  the  patch 
from  the  new  will  not  harmonize  with  the  old.  t^j  And  no  one 
puts  fresh  wine  into  old  wineskins,  otherwise  the  fresh  wine 
will  burst  the  wineskins,  and  [the  wine]  itself  will  be  spilled, 
and  the  wineskins  will  be  destroyed ;  38  but  fresh  wine  must 
be  put  into  new  wineskins,  [[and  both  are  preserved  together. 
39  And  no  one  having  drunk  old  [wine]  desires  fresh;  for  he 
says,  'The  old  is  wholesome.']  ]" 

COMMENTARY 

At  the  banquet  in  the  house  of  the  fifth  disciple  (who  is  here 
called  "Levi,"  but  is  really  loudas,  the  Regent  of  the  sign  Aries) 
the  subject  of  esotericism  and  exotericism  is  appropriately  intro- 
duced in  the  allegories  of  the  new  patch  and  the  fresh  wine;  and  in 
Matthczv  the  subject  is  continued  in  the  subsequent  incident  of  the 
healing-  of  the  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood  and  the  raising  of 
laeiros'  daughter,  but  in  Luke,  as  in  Mark,  this  incident  has  been 
disconnected  from  the  banquet  and  badly  dislocated. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  715 

Chapter  vi.  i-i  i 

I  Now,  it  befell  that  on  a  [[second-first]]  sabbath  he  was  going 
through  the  grain-fields ;  and  his  disciples  were  plucking  the  ears, 
and  eating,  rubbing  them  in  their  hands.  2  But  some  of  the  Phari- 
sees said  [[to  them]]  : 

"Why  are  you  doing  what  it  is  not  lawful  [[to  do]]  on  the 
sabbath  ?" 

3  And  answering  them,  lesous  said  : 

"Have  you  not  read  even  this,  which  David  did.  when  he  was 
hungry,  he  and  those  with  him :  4  how  he  entered  into  God's 
house,  and  took  and  ate  'the  loaves  of  the  display-ojfering  (and 
gave  also  to  those  with  him),  which  it  is  not  lawful  to  eat,  except 
for  the  priests  only?" 

5  And  he  said  to  them : 

"The  Son  of  man  is  Master  [[also]]  of  the  sabbath." 

6  And  it  befell  [[also]]  on  another  sabbath  that  he  entered  into 
the  synagogue  and  taught ;  and  a  man  was  there  and  his  right  hand 
was  withered.  7  And  the  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  were  watching 
him,  so  that  if  he  should  heal  [him]  on  the  sabbath  they  might 
find  [cause]  to  prefer  charges  against  him.  8  But  he  knew  their 
designs,  and  said  to  the  man  who  had  the  withered  hand : 

"Rise  up,  and  stand  in  the  midst." 

And  he  arose  and  stood  before  all.     9  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"I  ask  you,  Is  it  lawful  to  do  right  or  to  do  wrong  on  the  sab- 
bath, to  save  a  [man's]  life,  or  to  kill  [him]  ?" 

10  And  having  surveyed  them  all,  he  said   [[to  the  man]]: 

"Stretch  out  your  hand." 

And  he  did  [[so]],  and  his  hand  was  restored  [[sound]]  like 
the  other.  1 1  But  they  were  filled  with  folly,  and  talked  with  one 
another  about  what  they  might  do  with  lesous. 

COMMENTARY 

The  Codex  Bezae,  supposed  to  date  from  the  sixth  century,  trans- 
poses verse  5  to  the  end  of  verse  10,  and  follows  verse  4  with  the 
following  narrative :  "On  the  same  day  he  beheld  a  certain  man 


'jid  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

working-  on  the  sabbath,  and  said  to  him :  'Man,  blessed  are  you 
if  you  know  what  you  are  doing;  but  if  you  do  not  know,  you  are 
accursed  and  a  transgressor  of  the  law.'  " 

What  is  practically  a  repetition  of  this  story  about  lesous  healing 
on  the  sabbath  is  found  in  xiv.  i-6:  there  the  man  has  the  dropsy 
instead  of  a  withered  hand,  and  is  in  a  Pharisee's  house  instead  of 
being  in  the  synagogue;  but  tritling  discrepancies  of  that  sort  are 
to  be  expected  in  this  "history"  when  two  versions  of  the  same 
affair  are  given.  Here  the  first  version  is  taken  from  Mark,  while 
the  second  one  is  included  in  the  olla  podrida  miscalled  the  peri- 
scope. 

Cii.  VI.  12-23 

12  And  it  befell  in  those  days  that  he  went  out  into  the  moun- 
tain to  pray;  and  he  was  spending  the  night  in  prayer  to  God. 
13  And  when  day  came,  he  called  to  [him]  his  disciples;  and 
he  chose  from  them  twelve,  whom  also  he  named  "Messen- 
gers": 14  Simon,  whom  he  also  named  Petros,  and  Andreas 
his  brother,  and  lakdbos  and  loannes,  and  Philippos  and  Ptole- 
maios  Junior,  15  and  Matthias  and  Thomas,  and  lakobos  the 
[son]  of  Alphaios,  and  Simon  who  was  called  the  Zealot,  16 
and  loudas  \_thc  brother^  of  lakobos,  and  loudas  Iskariotes, 
who  became  a  traitor.  17  And  he  came  down  witli  them,  and  stood 
on  a  level  place,  and  a  great  crowd  of  his  disciples  and  a  great 
throng  of  people  from  all  Judsea  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  sea-coast 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  who  came  to  hear  him,  and  to  be  cured  of  their 
diseases;  18  and  those  who  were  annoyed  by  unclean  spirits  were 
healed.  19  And  all  the  crowd  sought  to  touch  him,  for  a  power 
w^ent  out  from  him  and  cured  [them]  all. 

20  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  on  his  disciples,  and  said: 
"Beatified  are  ye,  the  mendicants :  for  yours  is  the  kingdom 

of  God. 

21  "Beatified  are  ye  who  are  hungry  now:  for  you  shall  be 
feasted. 

"Beatified  are  ye  who  are  wailing  now :  for  you  shall  laugh. 

22  "Beatified  are  ye  when  men  shall  hate  you,  and  when  they 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  717 

shall  exclude  }ou  [from  the  Mysteries],  and  reproach  you,  and 
strike  out  your  name  as  undeserving,  on  account  of  the  Son  of  man. 
23  Rejoice  on  that  day,  and  frisk :  for  behold,  your  reward  is  great 
in  the  heaven-world;  for  in  the  same  way  their  fathers  did  to  the 
prophets. 

COMMENTARY 

In  Matthew  the  "sermon  on  the  mount"  follows  the  calling  of 
the  first  four  disciples;  here  in  Luke,  where  it  may  be  more  prop- 
erly styled  the  "sermon  on  the  plain,"  it  comes  immediately  after 
the  selection  of  the  twelve  companions,  who  are  erroneously  termed 
"apostles,"  or  "messengers."  The  discourse  is  a  mere  miscellany 
of  dislocated  passages ;  some  that  are  placed  elsewhere  in  Luke  are 
included  by  Matthezv  in  the  discourse,  but  about  lialf  the  material 
of  which  it  is  composed  in  Matthezv  is  peculiar  to  that  Gospel. 

From  verse  22  and  other  passages  in  Luke  and  Acts  it  is  to  be 
inferred  that  the  compiler  of  Luke  (who  was  very  probably  also 
the  author  of  Acts)  was  a  rejected  candidate  for  initiation  in  the 
Mysteries,  and  that  he  felt  very  sore  over  his  rejection,  having  been 
"reproached"  and  called  poncros,  "worthless,"  a  term  opposed  to 
chrestos,  "worthy,"  the  appellation  given  an  accepted  candidate.  If 
so,  he  was  but  one  of  many  who  embraced  Christianity  only  after 
having  been  excluded  from  the  Greek  Mysteries.  Zosimos  (Book 
II)  says  of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  who  murdered  his  own  son 
and  committed  many  other  atrocities :  "He  went  to  the  priests 
to  be  purified  from  his  crimes.  But  they  told  him  that  there  was 
no  kind  of  lustration  that  was  sufficient  to  clear  him  of  such  enor- 
mities. A  Spaniard,  named  Aigyptios,  very  familiar  with  the  court 
ladies,  being  at  Rome,  assured  Constantine  that  the  Christian  re- 
ligion would  teach  him  how  to  cleanse  himself  from  all  his  offences, 
and  that  they  who  received  it  were  immediately  absolved  from  all 
their  sins.  Constantine  no  sooner  heard  this  than  he  easily  believed 
it,  and,  forsaking  the  rites  of  his  country,  embraced  those  which 
Aigyptios  offered  him."  After  receiving  the  Christian  lustration, 
however,  Constantine  remained  the  same  villainous  despot  that  he 
was  before  he  embraced  the  new  religion. 


7i8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  VI.  24-49 

24  "But  woe  to  you,  the  rich :  for  you  have  had  your  full  con- 
solation ! 

25  "Woe  to  you  who  are  filled :  for  you  shall  hunger ! 

"Woe  [[to  you]]  who  laugh  now:  for  you  shall  wail  and  weep! 

26  "Woe  [[to  you]]  when  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you:  for 
in  the  same  way  their  fathers  did  to  the  false  prophets! 

27  "But  I  say  to  you,  my  hearers,  Love  your  enemies,  treat 
nobly  those  who  hate  you,  28  bless  those  who  curse  you, 
[[and]]  pray  for  those  who  insult  you.  29  To  him  who  strikes 
you  on  the  [right]  cheek,  offer  him  also  the  other;  and  from 
him  who  takes  away  your  cloak,  do  not  forbid  your  tunic  also. 
30  Give  to  every  one  who  begs  of  you ;  and  of  him  who  takes 
away  things  belonging  to  you,  do  not  demand  their  return.  31 
And  as  you  wish  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  you  also  to 
them  likewise.  32  And  if  you  affectionately  greet  those  who 
greet  you  affectionately,  what  sort  of  graciousness  is  it  on  your 
part?  For  even  the  sin-hardened  greet  affectionately  those  who 
affectionately  greet  them.  33  And  if  you  do  good  to  those  who  do 
good  to  you,  what  sort  of  graciousness  is  it  on  your  part?  For 
even  the  sin-hardened  do  that  very  thing.  34  And  if  you  lend  to 
those  from  whom  you  expect  to  receive  [interest],  what  sort  of 
graciousness  is  it  on  your  part  ?  Even  the  sin-hardened  lend  to  the 
sin-hardened,  that  they  may  get  back  fair  [interest].  35  But  love 
your  enemies,  and  do  good  [to  them],  and  lend,  never  expecting 
[interest]  ;  and  your  reward  shall  be  great,  and  you  shall  become 
sons  of  the  Highest  [God],  for  he  is  gracious  to  the  ungrateful 
and  undeserving.  36  Become  merciful,  even  as  your  Father  is 
merciful.  37  And  judge  not,  and  you  shall  not  be  judged;  and 
condemn  not,  and  you  shall  not  be  condemned ;  release,  and  you 
shall  be  released :  38  give,  and  it  shall  be  given  to  you ;  honest 
measure,  pressed  down,  shaken  together,  [[and]]  running  over, 
shall  they  give  into  your  lap.  For  with  what  standard  you 
measure  by,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  [[again]]." 

39  And  he  spoke  also  an  allegory  to  them : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  719 

"Can  a  blind  man  lead  a  blind  man?  Will  they  not  both  fall 
into  a  pit?  40  A  disciple  is  not  above  his  teacher;  but  every 
one  when  his  character  is  moulded  shall  be  as  his  teacher.  41 
But  why  do  you  look  at  the  dust-particle  that  is  in  your  brother's 
eye,  but  do  not  discern  the  beam  which  is  in  your  own  eye? 
42  Or  how  can  you  say  to  your  brother,  'Brother,  permit  [that] 
I  cast  out  the  dust-particle  which  is  in  your  eye,'  when  you 
yourself  do  not  behold  the  beam  which  is  in  your  own  eye? 
You  hypocrite,  cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  your  own  eye, 
and  then  you  will  see  steadily  to  cast  out  the  dust-particle 
which  is  in  your  brother's  eye.  43  For  there  is  no  good  tree 
that  produces  bad  fruit,  nor  again  a  bad  tree  that  produces  good 
fruit.  44  For  each  tree  is  known  by  its  own  fruit.  For  [men]  do 
not  gather  figs  from  thorn-bushes,  nor  do  they  pick  grape-clus- 
ters from  bramble-bushes.  45  The  good  man  out  of  his  heart's 
good  treasure  brings  forth  that  which  is  good;  and  the  bad 
[man]  out  of  the  bad  [[treasure  of  his  heart]]  brings  forth 
that  which  is  bad :  for  out  of  the  heart's  superfluity  his  mouth 
speaks. 

46  "And  why  do  you  call  me  'Master,  Master,'  and  not  do 
the  things  which  I  say?  47  Every  one  who  comes  to  me  and 
hears  my  arcane  doctrines,  and  practises  them,  I  shall  show  you 
to  whom  he  is  like :  4<S  he  is  like  a  man  building  a  house,  who 
excavated  and  deepened,  and  laid  a  foundation  upon  the  rock: 
and  when  an  inundation  came,  the  flood  burst  upon  that  house, 
and  could  not  shake  it,  because  it  had  been  well  builded.  49 
But  he  who  heard,  and  did  not  practise,  is  like  a  man  who  built 
a  house  upon  the  earth  without  a  foundation,  against  which  the 
flood  burst,  and  immediately  it  fell  in;  and  the  crash  of  that 
house  was  great." 

COMMENTARY 

Though  having  but  a  scanty  supply  of  beatitudes,  the  compiler 
has  added  to  them  several  "woes"  of  which  the  text  of  Matthew 
is  innocent.  They  are  formed,  it  will  be  noticed,  by  simply  revers- 
ing the  beatitudes,  and  this  device   for  "padding"  is  found  else- 


720  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

where  in  the  text.  The  discourse  is  largely  composed  of  spurious 
material,  very  badly  written,  and  for  the  most  part  nonsensical. 
The  command  (verse  30)  to  give  to  every  beggar,  regardless  of 
merit,  and  not  to  require  the  return  of  things  wrongfully  taken 
away,  is,  like  much  of  this  "sermon,"  mere  priestly  gush.  The 
peculiar  doctrine  is  here  announced  that  people  who  are  prosperous, 
well-fed,  and  jovial  and  highly  esteemed  are  to  receive  woe  in  the 
next  world  ;  while  heavenly  bliss  is  reserved  for  beggars,  starvelings, 
mourners  and  persons  who  are  disliked  and  ostracized.  As  the  early 
Christians,  being  recruited  from  the  lowest  classes,  were  poor  and 
ignorant,  it  is  but  natural  that  their  literature  should  express  a  sense 
of  their  bitter  wrongs;  and  it  is  fitting  that  lesous,  in  the  character 
of  a  religious  and  social  reformer,  should  console  the  poor  and 
downtrodden,  while  reproving  the  oppressors  who  heap  up  riches 
by  exploiting  the  common  people.  But  these  "beatitudes"  and  "woes" 
are  not  the  teaching  of  a  religious  reformer,  nor  even  the  outcry  of 
the  victims  of  greed  ;  they  are  but  the  ranting  of  the  insincere  priest, 
who  plays  upon  the  prejudices,  hopes  and  fears  of  the  ignorant. 
The  shallow  doctrine  enunciated  is  that  those  who  are  happy  in  this 
world  will  l)e  unhappy  in  the  afterworld,  and  those  who  are  miser- 
able on  earth  will  be  blest  in  heaven.  Only  the  poor  are  expected 
to  believe  this;  the  rich  understand  that  the  doctrine  is  merely  de- 
signed to  make  the  downtrodden  masses  submissive  and  resigned  to 
their  wretchedness. 

Chapter  v^ii.  i-io 

I  And  when  he  had  completed  all  his  words  in  the  ears  of  die 
people,  he  entered  into  Kapernaum.  2  And  a  certain  centurion's 
slave,  who  was  prized  by  him,  was  ill  and  about  to  die.  3  And  hav- 
ing heard  about  lesous,  he  sent  to  him  elders  of  the  Jews,  entreating 
him  that  he  would  come  and  save  his  slave.  4  And  they,  having 
come  to  lesous,  besought. him  diligently,  saying: 

"He  is  worthy  that  you  should  grant  him  this;  5  for  he  loves 
our  nation,  and  himself  built  us  our  synagogue." 

6  And  lesous  went  with  them.     And  when  already  he  was  not 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  721 

far  distant  from  the  house,  the  centurion  sent  friends  [[to  him]], 
saying  to  him : 

"Master,  do  not  trouble  [yourself]  ;  for  I  am  not  respectable, 
that  you  should  come  under  my  roof:  7  wherefore  neither  did  I 
deem  myself  worthy  to  come  to  you;  but  say  the  word,  and  my 
slave-boy  will  be  cured.  8  For  I  also  am  a  man  appointed  under 
authority,  having  under  myself  soldiers :  and  I  say  to  this  one,  'Go,' 
and  he  goes ;  and  to  another,  'Come,'  and  he  comes ;  and  to  my  slave, 
*Do  this,'  and  he  does  it." 

9  And  when  lesous  heard  these  things,  he  wondered  at  him,  and 
turned  and  said  to  the  crowd  following  him : 

"I  say  to  you.  Not  even  in  Israel  have  I  found  so  great  faith." 

10  And  those  who  had  been  sent,  having  returned  to  the  house, 
found  the  [[sicklied]]  slave  sound. 

COMMENTARY 

The  centurion  was  a  rich  slave-owner,  but  no  "Woe  unto  you 
who  are  rich"  is  pronounced  against  him;  instead,  "he  is  worthy" 
that  his  slave  should  be  healed  (his  chattel  preserved)  because— here 
speaks  the  priest — "he  built  us  our  synagogue."  Thus  there  is  one 
doctrine  for  the  poor,  and  another  one  for  the  rich.  The  slave  is 
saved  through  his  master's  faith,  not  through  his  own ;  all  that  is 
said  in  favor  of  the  dying  sufferer  is  that  he  was  "prized"  (enti- 
v.ios)  by  his  master,  and  this  may  mean  either  that  he  was  held  in 
honor  (though  a  slave)  or  that  he  was  rated  as  a  highly  valuable 
piece  of  property. 

Ch.  VII.  11-17 

11  And  it  befell  that  [[on  the]]  next  [[day]]  he  went  into  a 
city  called  Nain;  and  with  him  went  his  [[many]]  disciples  and 
a  great  crowd.  12  And  as  he  drew  near  to  the  gate  of  the  city, 
also  behold,  there  was  carried  out  [a  youth]  who  was  dead,  the 
only-born  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow;  and  a  consid- 
erable crowd  from  the  city  was  with  her,  13  And  when  the  Master 
saw  her,  his  heart  was  stirred,  and  he  said  to  her : 

"Do  not  weep." 


722  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

14  And  he  came  near  and  touched  the  coffin;  and  the  bearers 
halted.     And  he  said  : 

"Young  man,  I  say  to  you,  Arise." 

1 5  And  the  dead  man  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak ;  and  he  gave 
him  to  his  mother.  16  And  fear  seized  all,  and  they  glorified  God, 
saying : 

*'A  great  prophet  has  risen  up  among  us,"  and,  "God  has  visited 
his  people." 

17  And  this  report  went  out  concerning  him  in  the  whole  of 
Judaea,  and  in  all  the  circumjacent  [country]. 

COMMENTARY 

The  city  of  Nain,  as  well  as  this  story,  is  peculiar  to  Luke.  Jose- 
phus  mentions  a  village  called  Nain,  but  it  was  not  in  Galilee. 
Eusebios,  an  unveracious  church  historian  and  accomplished  forger 
of  the  fourth  century,  says  in  one  place  that  Nain  was  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Endor  and  Scythopolis,  and  elsewhere  that  it  was  two 
miles  south  of  Tabor.  Modern  ecclesiastical  geographers  place  it 
on  their  maps  and  identify  it  with  a  village  called  Nein.  But,  ad- 
mitting that  lesous,  whether  at  Nain  or  anywhere  else,  raised  a 
dead  man  to  life,  the  feat  would  prove  no  more  than  that  he,  as 
a  magician,  had  power  to  call  back  the  soul  to  the  physical  body 
from  which  it  had  departed;  and  this,  according  to  ancient  belief 
as  held  by  the  Greeks,  was  possible  during  the  first  three  days  after 
death. 

Ch.  VII.  18-35 

18  And  the  disciples  of  loannes  reported  to  him  about  all  these 
things.  19  And  having  called  to  him  certain  two  of  his  disciples, 
loannes  sent  them  to  lesous,  saying : 

"Are  you  the  Coming  One,  or  are  we  expecting  another?" 

20  And  when  the  men  came  to  him,  they  said : 

"loannes  the  Lustrator  has  sent  us  to  you,  saying,  'Are  you  the 
Coming  One,  or  are  we  expecting  another?'  " 

21  In   that    [[same]]    hour   he   healed   many   of   diseases   and 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  ^2^ 

scourges  and  evil  spirits,  and  favored  many  blind  men  to  see.     22 
And  [[lesous]]  answered  and  said  to  them. 

"Go  and  report  to  loannes  the  things  which  yon  have  seen  and 
heard :  the  bhnd  recover  their  sight,  the  lame  are  walking,  the  lepers 
are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  are  hearing,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  the 
poor  are  being  told  the  good  tidings.  23  And  blessed  is  he,  whoever 
it  [may  be],  who  shall  not  be  offended  on  account  of  me." 

24  And  when  the  messengers  of  loannes  had  departed,  he 
began  to  say  to  the  crowds  concerning  loannes: 

"What  did  you  go  out  into  the  desert  to  behold — a  reed  be- 
ing swayed  by  the  wind?  25  But  what  did  you  go  out  to  look 
at — a  man  clothed  in  soft  garments?  Behold,  those  who  are 
arrayed  in  resplendent  clothing  and  live  in  luxury  are  in  regal 
[mansions].  26  But  what  did  you  go  out  to  look  at — a  seer? 
Yes!  I  say  to  you,  and  [a  man]  more  uncommon  than  a  seer. 
2^  This  [forerunner]  is  he  concerning  whom  it  is  written: 
'Behold,  I  am  sending  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
Who  shall  prepare  thy  zca\  before  thee.' 
28  I  say  to  you.  Among  [men]  of  women  born,  there  is  no  one 
more  mature  than  loannes  [[the  Lustrator]];  but  he  who  is 
a  mere  infant  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is  a  more  mature  [man] 
than  he.  (29  And  all  the  people,  when  they  heard,  and  the  tax- 
collectors,  having  been  lustrated  with  the  lustral-rite  of  I5an- 
nes,  held  that  God  was  just.  30  But  the  Pharisees  and  the  law- 
yers, not  having  been  lustrated  by  him,  disregarded  as  to  them- 
selves the  counsel  of  God.)  31  To  what,  then,  shall  I  liken  the 
men  of  this  generative-sphere,  and  to  what  are  they  like?  32 
They  are  like  to  little  children  who,  sitting  in  the  market-place, 
keep  calling  to  one  another,  [and]  who  say: 

'We  have  fluted  to  you,  and  you  did  n't  dance; 
We  have  wailed,  and  you  did  n't  weep.' 
33  For  loannes  the  Lustrator  has  come  to  you  eating  no  bread 
nor  drinking  wine;  and  you  keep  saying,  'He  is  possessed  by 
a  ghost.'     34  The  Son  of  man  has  come  eating  and  drinking; 
and  you  keep  saying,  'Behold,  a  glutton  and  a  wine-swiller,  a 


724  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

friend  of  tax-collectors  and  immoral  men!'    35  And  by  all  her 
children  'Learning'  is  held  to  be  accurate!" 

COMMENTARY 

This  portion  of  the  text  follows  closely  the  parallel  passage  in 
Matthew;  either  the  one  was  copied  from  the  other  or  both  were 
taken  from  the  same  source.  Part  of  it  is  written  in  the  stumbling 
style  of  the  forgers,  and  the  rest  of  it  has  the  pure,  fluent  literary 
quality  which  they  could  not  successfully  imitate.  Verses  29  and  30, 
which  are  not  duplicated  in  Matthciv,  seem  to  be  a  later  interpola- 
tion:  in  the  received  text  they  do  not,  as  here,  form  part  of  the 
speech  of  lesous,  and  verse  31  begins  with  the  words,  "And  the 
Master  said"  ;  but  here,  as  often,  the  received  text  has  no  good 
authority  in  the  manuscripts.  In  place  of  this  statement  about  lus- 
tration ("baptism")  Matthew  (xi.  12-15)  l^^s  one  to  the  effect  that 
from  the  days  of  loannes  the  kingdom  is  obtained  by  the  strong 
and  masterful,  and  that  loannes  was  Elijah  reincarnated ;  but  in 
Luke  the  "saying"  about  the  kingdom  appears,  though  differently 
worded,  in  xvi.  16,  mingled  with  other  unassorted  fragments.  From 
the  way  in  which  the  text  has  been  tampered  with  it  is  to  be  inferred 
that  originally  it  contained  some  statement  about  loannes  which  the 
forgers  deemed  it  expedient  to  suppress.  Even  the  oldest  manu- 
scripts show  that  in  the  literary  labor  of  the  improvers  of  the  sacred 
text  the  erasing-knife  and  sponge  were  as  necessary  as  the  pen. 
Now^,  the  story  about  Idannes  being  imprisoned  is  a  very  clumsy 
forgery :  although  depicted  as  a  great  prophet  w-ho  foretells  the 
coming  of  lesous  and  acts  as  his  forerunner,  he  is  here  represented 
as  being  spiritually  blind,  and  afflicted  with  doubt  concerning  the 
Master  whom  he  had  heralded  and  consecrated,  and  upon  whom  he 
had  seen  the  spirit  descend  as  a  dove.  The  reason  for  this  dispar- 
agement of  loannes  was  probably  that  the  "orthodox"  forgers  were 
opposing  those  "primitive"  Christians  who,  having  formerly  been 
worshippers  of  the  Water-God  Cannes,  were  inclined  to  rank  loan- 
nes above  lesous :  in  fact,  there  were  sects  that  rejected  lesous  and 
called  themselves  followers  of  loannes. 

The  words  of  lesous  referring  to  loannes  "in  the  desert"  can  not 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  725 

belong  here ;  their  only  appropriate  place  is  in  the  opening  scene, 
when  lesotis,  on  his  way  to  the  place  where  loannes  was  administer- 
ing the  lustration,  would  naturally  meet  the  returning  "crowds"  who 
had  already  received  the  rite.  Again,  between  this  speech  about 
loannes  and  the  ridicule  of  the  wooden  men  of  learning  in  the 
generative  sphere  there  is  no  real  connection  of  thought ;  the  two 
passages  are  here  brought  into  juxtaposition  merely  because  they 
both  refer  to  loannes. 

Ch.  v'ii.  36-50 

36  Now,  one  of  the  Pharisees  asked  him  that  he  would  eat 
with  him  ;  and  he  entered  into  the  Pharisee's  house  and  reclined 
[at  table],  t^j  And  behold,  a  woman  who  was  an  immoral 
woman  in  the  city,  having  ascertained  that  he  was  reclining  [at 
table]  in  the  Pharisee's  house,  brought  an  alabaster  flask  of  oil, 
38  and  standing  behind  at  his  feet,  weeping,  she  began  to  be- 
dew his  feet  with  her  tears,  and  she  was  wiping  them  with  the 
hair  of  her  head,  and  kissing  them  again  and  again,  and  anoint- 
ing them  with  the  oil.  39  But  when  the  Pharisee  who  had 
invited  him  saw  it,  he  spoke  within  himself,  saying: 

"This  [man],  if  he  were  a  seer,  would  have  perceived  who 
and  of  what  sort  the  woman  is  who  is  touching  him,  that  she 
is  an  immoral  woman." 

40  And  lesous  answered  and  said  to  him: 
"Simdn,  I  have  something  to  say  to  you." 
And  he  says: 

"Teacher,  say  it." 

41  "A  certain  money-lender  had  two  debtors;  the  one  owed 
five  hundred  denarii,  and  the  other  fifty.  42  When  they  did 
not  have  [the  money]  to  pay,  he  forgave  them  both.  Which 
of  them,  then,  will  love  him  most?" 

43  Simon  answered  and  said : 

"He,  I  take  it,  to  whom  he  forgave  the  most." 

And  he  said  to  him: 

"You  have  decided  rightly." 

44  And  turning  to  the  woman,  he  said  to  Simon: 


726  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Do  you  see  this  woman?  I  entered  into  your  house;  you 
gave  me  no  water  for  my  feet;  but  she  has  bedewed  my  feet 
with  her  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair.  45  You  gave  me 
no  kiss;  but  she,  from  the  time  I  came  in,  has  not  ceased  from 
passionately  kissing  my  feet.  46  You  did  not  anoint  my  head 
with  oil;  but  she  has  anointed  my  feet  with  fragrant  oil.  47 
For  which  cause  I  say  to  you,  Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are 
remitted;  for  she  loved  much.  But  [he]  to  whom  little  is  re- 
mitted loves  little." 

48  And  to  her  he  said : 
"Your  sins  are  remitted." 

49  And  those  reelining  with  [him  at  table]  began  to  say  within 
themselves : 

"Who  is  this  who  even  remits  sins?" 

50  But  he  said  to  the  woman : 

"Your  faith  has  saved  you;  go  in  peace." 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  of  the  fallen  woman  who  anointed  lesous  is  not  only 
far  more  beautiful  than  that  which  is  found  in  the  other  Gosprls, 
but  is  also  a  correct  allegory.  Mariam,  the  temple-woman,  anoints 
the  feet,  not  the  head,  of  the  Master.  In  Mark  and  Matthciv  the 
incident  (wliich  properly  takes  place  at  the  banc[uet  in  the  house 
of  Simon  the  disciple)  is  converted  into  an  ante-mortem  anointing 
of  the  body  of  lesous;  and  in  that  repulsive  form  the  story  almost 
immediately  precedes  the  account  of  the  crucifixion.  To  embalm 
a  man,  even  allegorically,  before  he  is  dead,  is  not  a  pleasing  notion. 
The  woman  is  called  in  Luke  a  "sinneress,"  as  it  is  quaintly  ren- 
dered in  \\'ycliffe's  version,  and  a  harsher  word  might  have  been 
used,  as  in  Matthew  xxi.  31.  The  moral  of  the  stor}^  is  that  she 
was  saved  by  love ;  but  the  forgers  have  not  neglected  to  bring  in  a 
reference  to  their  favorite  doctrine  of  salvation  by  "faith,"  even 
though  it  jars  with  the  context.  Simon,  however,  is  only  disguised 
as  a  "Pharisee"  here,  and  is  not  a  "leper"  as  he  is  in  the  other 
version;  for  lesous  would  hardly  have  reproached  a  leper  for  not 
having  given  him  a  kiss ! 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  ^2^ 

Chapter  viii.  1-3 

I  And  it  befell  subsequently  that  he  journeyed  through  from 
city  to  city,  and  from  village  to  village,  proclaiming  and  announcing 
as  good  tidings  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  with  him  [went]  the 
twelve  2  and  certain  women  who  had  been  healed  of  wicked  ghosts 
and  infirmities :  Mariam  the  so-called  "temple-woman,"  from  whom 
seven  ghosts  had  gone  out,  3  loanna,  the  wife  of  Chouzas,  a 
steward  of  Herod,  and  Sousanna,  and  many  others,  who  supplied 
them  \imth  the  means  of  living]  from  their  property. 

COMMENTARY 

These  "historical"  details  are  recorded  only  by  the  compiler  of 
Luke.  No  other  historian  has  mentioned  the  charitable  loanna  and 
Sousanna,  and  the  other  female  disciples  who  had  been  healed  of 
wicked  ghosts.     Even  Chouzas  is  elsewhere  unknown. 

Ch.  viii.  4-18 

4  And  when  a  great  crowed  came  together,  and  the  [inhabi- 
tants] from  every  city  were  going  to  him,  he  spoke  by  an 
allegory : 

5  "The  sower  went  out  to  sow  his  seed:  and  as  he  sowed 
some  [of  the  seed]  fell  beside  the  road,  and  it  was  trampled 
upon,  and  the  birds  of  the  sky  ate  it  up;  6  and  other  fell  on 
the  rock,  and  when  it  had  sprouted  it  withered  away,  because 
it  had  no  moisture;  7  and  other  fell  in  the  midst  of  thorns, 
and  the  thorns  sprouted  with  it,  and  choked  it;  (S  and  other 
fell  into  the  good  soil,  and  sprouted,  and  produced  fruit  a  hun- 
dredfold." 

Saying  these  things,  he  cried : 

"He  who  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

9  But  his  disciples  put  a  question  to  him,  [[saying]]  : 
"What  may  be  [the  meaning  of]  this  allegory?" 

10  And  he  said: 

"It  has  been  permitted  you  to  know  the  mystery  of  the  king- 
dom of  God;  but  to  the  rest  [the  subject  is  couched]  in  alle- 


728  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

gories,  that  'seeing,  they  may  not  see,  and  hearing,  they  may  not 
understand.'  ii  Now,  this  is  [the  meaning  of]  the  allegory:  The 
seed  is  the  arcane  doctrine  of  God.  12  And  the  [seeds]  beside  the 
road  are  the  hearers  [of  it]  ;  then  comes  the  Accuser,  and  takes 
away  the  arcane  doctrine  from  their  heart,  that  they  may  not  be- 
lieve and  be  saved.  13  And  the  [seeds]  on  the  rock[[s]]  are  those 
who,  when  they  have  heard  [it],  receive  with  joy  the  arcane  doc- 
trine; and  these  have  no  root,  who  for  a  season  believe,  and  in  a 
season  of  temptation  fall  away.  14  And  that  which  fell  among  the 
thorns,  these  are  they  who  have  heard,  and  as  they  go  along  they 
are  choked  with  life's  cares  and  wealth  and  pleasures,  and  do  not 
bring  fruit  to  perfection.  15  And  that  in  the  good  soil,  these  are 
they  who  in  a  noble  and  good  heart  having  heard  the  arcane  doc- 
trine, retain  it,  and  bring  forth  fruit  with  perseverance. 

16  "And  no  one,  when  he  has  lighted  a  lamp,  covers  it  with 
a  vessel,  or  puts  it  under  a  bed ;  but  he  puts  it  on  a  lampstand, 
that  they  who  enter  may  see  its  light.  1 7  For  there  is  nothing 
concealed  that  shall  not  become  manifest,  nor  [anything]  ob- 
scure that  shall  not  be  known  and  come  to  manifestation.  18 
Beware,  then,  how  you  hear:  for  [truth]  shall  be  given  to  him 
who  has  [it],  but  even  that  which  he  pretends  he  has  shall  be 
taken  away  from  him  who  has  it  not." 

COMMENTARY 

The  allegory  of  the  sower  is  here  given  in  a  condensed  form,  and 
reads  like  a  parody,  so  badly  is  it  written.  The  pseudo-interpreta- 
tion of  it  is  likewise  abridged ;  the  compiler  apparently  entertained 
doubts  as  to  its  accuracy,  for  he  has  appended  to  it  three  genuine 
"sayings"  which  he  supposed  to  be  applicable  to  the  subject.  But 
the  "sayings"  do  not  apply;  on  the  contrary,  the  concealed  meaning 
of  the  allegory  is  somewhat  like  a  lamp  under  a  vessel,  and  it  cer- 
tainly was  not  perceived  by  the  exegetist  who  marred  the  text  with 
this  stupid  "explanation."  According  to  him,  the  seeds  are  the 
divine  doctrines,  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  the  hearers  of  those 
doctrines ;  the  "rock"  and  the  thorns  on  and  among  which  the  seeds 
(the  doctrines  and  the  hearers)   are  sown  represent  temptations. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  729 

cares  and  riches.  But.  even  overlooking  these  muddled  details,  the 
explanation  does  not  even  touch  upon  the  true  inner  meaning  of  the 
allegory,  which  relates  to  the  action  of  the  intuitive  mind,  the  Nous, 
upon  the  lower  intellect.  If  it  is  understood  that  the  seeds  are  the 
doctrines,  and  the  soil  the  hearers,  the  rendering  is  merely  exoteric 
and  of  no  real  value.  Wisdom  comes  from  within,  not  from 
without. 

Ch.  VIII.  19-21 

19  And  his  mother  and  brothers  tried  to  come  to  him,  but  could 
not  get  to  him  because  of  the  crowd.  20  And  it  was  reported  to 
him : 

"Your  mother  and  your  brothers  are  standing  outside,  wishing 
to  see  you." 

21  But  he  answered  and  said  to  them: 

"My  mother  and  my  brothers  are  these  [disciples]  who  are  lis- 
tening to  the  arcane  doctrine  of  God  and  practising  it." 

COMMENTARY 

This  story,  as  here  told,  is  toned  down  and  presents  lesous  in 
a  more  favorable  light  than  it  does  in  Mark  and  Matthczv.  The 
mother  and  brothers  of  lesous  are  unable  to  get  to  him,  and  he  does 
not  ask,  dramatically,  who  they  are.  It  is  even  left  to  be  inferred 
that  he  graciously  consents  to  see  them.  Yet  his  words  certainly 
give  little  countenance  to  IMariolatry. 

Cn.  VIII.  22-39 

22  And  it  befell  on  one  of  those  days  that  he  entered  into 
[the]  ship,  himself  and  his  disciples;  and  he  said  to  them: 

"Let  us  go  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  lake." 

And  they  put  out  [to  sea].     23  And  as  they  sailed  he  fell 

asleep.    And  a  violent  wind-storm  came  down  on  the  lake,  and 

they  were  being  completely  filled   [with  water],  and  were  in 

danger.    24  And  they  came  to  him  and  awakened  him,  saying : 

"Captain,  captain,  we  are  perishing!" 


730  TITR  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

And  he  awoke,  and  reprimanded  the  wind  and  the  surge  of 
the  water;  and  they  ceased,  and  there  befell  a  calm.  25  And 
he  said  to  them  : 

"Where  is  your  faith?" 

And  being  afraid,  they  wondered,  saying: 

"Who  then  is  this,  that  he  gives  orders  e\en  to  the  winds  and 
the  water,  and  they  obey  him  ?" 

26  And  they  put  into  port  in  the  country  of  the  Gerascnes, 
wdiich  is  on  the  opposite  side  from  Gahlee.  27  And  when  he 
had  come  forth  upon  the  land,  there  met  him  a  certain  man  out 
of  the  city,  who  was  possessed  by  ghosts;  and  for  a  considerable 
time  he  had  worn  no  clothes,  and  was  not  dwelling  in  a  house, 
but  in  the  tombs.  28  And  when  he  saw  lesous  he  cried  out, 
and  fell  down  before  him,  and  with  a  loud  voice  said: 

"What  matters  it  to  you  and  to  me,  lesous.  Son  of  the  high- 
est God?    I  beg  you,  do  not  torment  me." 

29  For  he  was  commanding  the  unclean  spirit  to  come  out 
from  the  man.  For  many  times  it  had  forcibly  carried  him  off, 
and  he  was  kept  [under  restraint],  and  bound  with  chains  and 
fetters;  and  yet,  breaking  the  bonds,  he  was  driven  by  the 
ghost[[s]]  into  the  deserts.    30  And  lesous  asked  him: 

"What  is  your  name?" 

And  he  said: 

"Legion." 

For  many  ghosts  had  entered  into  him.  31  And  they  kept 
imploring  him  that  he  would  not  enjoin  them  to  go  away  into 
the  abyss.  32  Now,  there  was  a  herd  of  many  swine  feeding  on 
the  mountain;  and  [the  ghosts]  implored  him  that  he  would 
permit  them  to  enter  into  those.  And  he  permitted  them;  33 
and  the  ghosts  came  out  of  the  man  and  went  into  the  swine, 
and  the  herd  rushed  down  the  precipitous  slope  into  the  lake, 
and  were  choked.  34  And  when  the  herdsmen  saw  the  occur- 
rence, they  fled,  and  [[w^ent  away  and]]  reported  it  in  the  city 
and  in  the  country.  35  And  they  went  out  to  see  what  had 
taken  place ;  and  they  came  to  lesous,  and  found  the  man  from 
whom  the  ghosts  had  gone  out  sitting,  clothed  and  restored 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  731 

to  his  senses,  at  the  feet  of  lesous,  and  they  were  afraid.  36 
And  the  spectators  reported  to  them  how  the  spirit-possessed 
man  had  been  saved.  37  And  all  the  multitudes  of  the  country 
circumjacent  to  the  Gerasenes  begged  him  to  depart  from  them, 
for  they  were  oppressed  with  great  fear.  And  he  entered  into 
the  ship  and  returned.  38  And  the  man  from  whom  the  ghosts 
had  gone  forth  kept  begging  him  to  be  [taken]  with  him;  but 
[[lesous]]   sent  him  away,  saying: 

39  "Return  to  your  house,  and  relate  all  the  things  God  has  done 
for  you." 

And  he  departed,  proclaiming  through  the  whole  city  all  the 
things  lesous  had  done  for  him. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  text  of  Luke  follows  that  of  Mark,  while  that  of  Mat- 
thew is  condensed,  though  providing  more  commodious  quarters 
for  the  spirits.  A  legion  of  ghosts,  if  recruited  to  the  full  strength 
of  a  legion  of  Roman  soldiers,  would  amount  to  nearly  seven  thou- 
sand, being  a  thousand  times  as  many  as  were  said  to  have  gone  out 
from  Alariam  the  temple-woman.  It  would  seem  that  the  compiler 
of  Matthczi',  doubting  that  one  man  could  accommodate  so  many, 
tried  to  make  the  story  more  plausible  by  furnishing  an  extra  man ; 
he  also  avoids  giving  the  number  of  spirits,  confining  himself  to  the 
statement  that  lesous  met  two  men  possessed  by  ghosts.  But  this 
can  not  mean  that  there  were  only  two  ghosts,  for  there  were  "many 
swine"  in  the  herd.  Again,  in  Mark  the  story  begins  with  but  one 
ghost,  and  though  in  Luke  it  starts  correctly  with  the  plural  number 
it  lapses  into  "the  ghost"  that  drives  the  man  into  the  desert;  while 
both  these  historical  authorities  agree  that  lesous — apparently  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  he  had  to  deal  with  a  legion  of  spooks 
— commanded  "the  unclean  spirit"  to  come  out  of  the  man. 

Ch.  VIII.  40-56 

40  And  \\hen  lesous  returned,  the  crowd  welcomed  him,  for 
they  were  all  looking  for  him.  41  And  behold,  there  came  a 
man  whose  name  was  laeiros,  and  he  was  a  ruler  of  the  syna- 


732  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

gogue;  and  he  fell  at  the  feet  of  lesous,  and  implored  him  to 
come  to  his  house,  42  because  he  had  an  only-born  daughter, 
about  twelve  years  old,  and  she  was  dying.  And  as  he  was 
going,  the  crowds  pressed  upon  him.  43  And  a  woman  who  for 
twelve  years  had  an  issue  of  blood,  who  [  [had  lavished  her 
whole  living  on  physicians,  and]]  could  not  be  healed  by  any 
one,  44  came  behind  him,  and  touched  the  hem  of  his  mantle ; 
and  forthwith  the  issue  of  her  blood  stopped.  45  And  lesous 
said: 

"Who  is  he  who  was  touching  me?" 

And  when  all  were  denying  it,  Petros  said,  [[and  those  with 
him]]: 

"Captain,  the  crowds  press  upon  you  and  jostle  you,  and  say 
you,  'Who  is  he  who  was  touching  me?'  " 

46  But  lesous  said: 

"Some  one  did  touch  me;  for  I  perceived  that  a  force  had 
gone  forth  from  me." 

47  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  she  had  not  escaped  de- 
tection, trembling  she  came,  and  fell  down  before  him,  and  de- 
clared to  him  before  all  the  people  for  what  cause  she  had 
touched  him,  and  how  she  was  healed  forthwith.  48  And  he 
said  to  her: 

"Daughter  [[take  courage]],  your  faith  has  saved  you;  go 
in  peace." 

49  While  he  is  yet  speaking,  comes  one  from  the  synagogue- 
ruler's  [house],  saying: 

"Your  daughter  is  dead;  do  not  trouble  the  Teacher." 

50  But  lesous,  having  heard  it,  answered  him: 
"Fear  not;  only  believe,  and  she  shall  be  saved." 

5 1  And  having  come  to  the  house,  he  did  not  permit  any  one 
to  enter  in  with  him,  except  Petros,  and  loannes,  and  lakobos, 
and  the  father  of  the  girl,  and  her  mother.  52  And  they  were 
all  weeping  and  bewailing  her.     But  he  said: 

"Do  not  weep ;  she  is  not  dead,  but  is  sleeping." 

53  And  they  laughed  at  him  scornfully,  knowing  that  she  was 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDLXG  TO  LUKE  733 

dead.  54  But  he  [[put  them  all  outside,  and]]  grasped  her 
hand  and  called  [her],  saying: 

"Girl,  awake." 

55  And  her  spirit  returned  to  her,  and  she  arose  forthwith; 
and  he  directed  that  [something]  should  be  given  her  to  eat. 
56  And  her  parents  were  astounded;  but  he  charged  them  to 
tell  no  one  of  what  had  taken  place. 

COMMENTARY 

The  words  "had  lavished  her  whole  living  on  physicians,"  in 
verse  43,  are  undoubtedly  an  interpolation.  The  fact  that  Luke  does 
not  make  this  statement  has  been  advanced  as  evidence  that  the  au- 
thor of  the  Gospel  was  "Luke,  the  beloved  physician,"  mentioned  in 
Colossiaiis  iv.  14,  on  the  theory  that  a  physician  would  not  allude 
to  the  members  of  his  profession  in  the  disrespectful  way  that  Mark 
does.  Be  that  as  it  may,  still  this  story  was  copied  from  Mark,  and 
so  the  interpolator  has  only  restored  what  the  compiler  of  Luke  saw 
fit  to  leave  out.  If  the  compiler  had  been  a  pliysician,  he  would 
naturally  have  named  the  disease  of  which  the  "only"  daughter  was 
dying;  and  as  a  physician  he  would  not  have  been  so  partial  to 
small  families.  It  is  only  in  Luke  that  the  daughter  of  laeiros  is 
mono  genes,  as  also  the  widow's  son  and  the  epileptic  boy.  It  is  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  alone  that  lesous  is  called  monogenes;  but  while  he 
was  the  "only  Son"  of  his  Father,  his  mother  bore  many  sons  and 
daughters  to  her  mortal  husband,  loseph. 

Chapter  ix.   1-6 

I  And  he  called  together  [[his]]  twelve  [[disciples]],  and 
gave  them  power  and  authority  over  all  the  ghosts,  and  to  heal 
diseases.  2  And  he  sent  them  out  to  proclaim  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  to  heal  [[the  infirm]].    3  And  he  said  to  them: 

"Take  nothing  for  the  road,  neither  staff,  nor  provision-bag, 
nor  bread,  nor  money;  neither  have  two  tunics.  4  And  into 
whatever  house  you  enter,  stay  there,  and  go  forth  from  there. 
5  And  as  many  as  do  not  receive  you,  when  you  go  forth  from 


734  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

that  city,  shake  off  the  dust  from  your  feet  for  a  testimony 
against  them." 

6  And  they  passed  along  through  the  villages,  proclaiming 
the  good  tidings,  and  healing  everywhere. 

COMMENTARY 

The  "twelve"  here  should  be  the  "seventy-two."  The  twelve 
Companions  of  the  Sun,  the  zodiacal  constellations,  are  always  with 
him  as  he  makes  the  circuit  of  the  heavens.  But  as  anthropomor- 
phized "disciples"  it  became  an  "historical"  necessity  for  them  to 
do  duty  as  missionaries ;  the  historian  has  therefore  severed  this  pas- 
sage from  the  account  (beginning  at  x.  i)  of  the  sending  out  of 
the  seventy-two,  and  has  api)lied  it  to  the  twelve.  It  has  been  further 
separated  from  its  true  place  in  the  narrative  by  the  insertion  of 
forgeries  and  dislocated  matter  in  the  gap  made  when  the  manu- 
script was  severed. 

Cii.  IX.  7-9 

7  And  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  of  all  the  things  taking  place 
[[through  him]]  ;  and  he  was  utterly  bewildered,  because  it  was 
said  by  some,  "loannes  has  been  raised  from  the  dead,"  8  and  by 
others,  "Elijah  has  appeared,"  and  by  others,  "A  certain  prophet, 
[one  of  the  prophets]  of  old,  has  risen  [from  the  dead]."  9  And 
Herod  said : 

"I  beheaded  loannes ;  but  who  is  this  about  whom  I  keep  hearing 
such  things?" 

And  he  sought  to  see  him. 

COMMENTARY 

Although  in  this  portion  of  his  "history"  the  compiler  of  Luke 
has  been  following  Mark,  he  omits  the  implausible  story  of  Herod's 
banquet,  of  which  Matthew  gives  an  abridged  version.  Then,  after 
giving  the  incident  of  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves  and  fishes, 
as  in  Mark,  the  compiler  of  Luke  rejects  the  whole  of  the  spurious 
matter  found  in  Mark  vi.  45-viii.  26  (which  is  reproduced  in  Mat- 
thew) and  again  begins  to  follow  the  text  of  Mark  at  viii.  27.   Now, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  735 

Mark  is  the  shortest  of  the  three  Synoptics,  and  this  extensive  inter- 
polation, composed  ahnost  wholly  of  garbled  repetitions  of  preced- 
ing stories,  was  obviously  inserted  merely  to  lengthen  it;  but  the 
compiler  of  Luke  could  afford  to  reject  this  padding,  since  he  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  additional  notes  of  the  Mystery-drama, 
and  these  he  has  inserted  in  the  so-called  periscope,  ix.  51-xviii.  14: 
with  so  much  new  material,  he  needed  space,  not  padding,  and  so 
he  threw  out  the  spurious  matter  with  which  Mark  had  been  padded. 

Ch.  IX.   10-17 

10  And  the  apostles,  when  they  had  returned,  related  to  him 
all  the  things  they  had  done.  And  he  took  them  and  retired 
apart  [[into  a  desert  place]]  to  a  city  called  Bethsaida.  11 
But  the  crowds,  having  perceived  it,  followed  him ;  and  he  wel- 
comed them,  and  spoke  to  them  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  he  cured  those  who  had  need  of  curing.  12  And  the 
day  began  to  decline;  and  the  twelve  came,  and  said  to  him: 

"Dismiss  the  crowd,  that  they  may  go  into  the  villages  and 
country  round  about,  and  lodge,  and  procure  provisions;  for 
we  are  here  in  a  desert  place." 

13  But  he  said  to  them: 

"Do  you  give  them  [something]  to  eat." 

And  they  said : 

"We  have  no  more  than  five  loaves  and  two  fishes;  unless 
indeed  we  should  go  and  l)uy  food  for  all  this  [throng  of] 
people." 

14  For  there  were  about  five  thousand  men.  But  he  said  to 
his  disciples : 

"Make  them  recline  in  companies,  about  fifty  each." 

15  And  they  did  so,  and  made  them  all  recline,  16  and  he 
took  the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fishes,  and  having  looked  up 
to  the  sky,  he  blessed  them  and  broke  [them]  in  pieces,  and 
gave  [them]  to  his  disciples  to  set  before  the  crowd.  17  And 
they  all  ate,  and  were  all  satisfied ;  and  there  was  taken  up  that 
which  was  superfluous  to  them,  twelve  hand-baskets  [full]. 


736  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  "apostles"  are  the  seventy-two,  and  the  picnic  takes  place 
before,  not  after,  their  return.  According  to  Mark  (vi.  45)  Beth- 
sa'ida  was  on  the  western  shore  of  the  sea;  here  it  is  on  the  eastern 
shore,  and  is  apparently  a  deserted  village,  having  no  inhabitants ; 
for,  although  it  is  called  a  "city,"  it  is  also  referred  to  as  "a  desert 
place"  where  food  and  lodging  could  not  be  obtained. 

CiT.  IX.  18-36 

18  And  it  befell  that  as  he  was  praying  alone,  his  disciples  were 
with  him;  and  he  asked  them,  saying: 

"Who  do  the  crowds  say  that  I  am?" 

19  And  they,  answering,  said: 

"loannes  the  Lustrator;  but  others  [say],  Elijah;  and  others, 
that  a  certain  prophet  of  those  of  old  has  risen  [from  the  dead]." 

20  And  he  said  to  them : 

"But  W'ho  do  you  say  that  I  am?" 
And  Petros,  answering,  said : 
"The  Anointed  of  God." 

21  But  he  strictly  enjoined  them,  and  charged  [them]  to  tell 
this  to  no  one,     22  saying: 

"It  is  inevitable  for  the  Son  of  man  to  suffer  many  things, 
and  be  rejected  by  the  elders  and  chief-priests  and  scribes,  and 
be  killed,  and  on  the  third  day  be  raised  up." 

23  And  he  said  to  all: 

"If  any  one  wishes  to  come  after  me,  let  him  utterly  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  [[daily]]  and  go  along  with  me. 
24  For  whoever  desires  to  save  his  soul  shall  lose  it ;  but  who- 
ever shall  lose  his  soul  for  the  sake  of  me,  he  shall  save  it.  25 
For  v^diat  is  a  man  profited,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  or  forfeit  his  own  self?  26  For  whoever  shall  be  ashamed 
of  me  and  of  my  arcane  doctrines,  of  him  the  Son  of  man  shall 
be  ashamed  when  he  comes  in  the  glory  of  himself  and  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  holy  Divinities.     27  But  I  say  to  you  truly. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  737 

There  are  some  of  the  bystanders  here  who  shall  not  at  all 
taste  death  until  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

28  And  it  befell,  about  eight  days  after  [he  had  taught]  these 
arcane  doctrines,  that  he  took  Petros  and  loannes  and  lakdbos, 
and  went  up  into  the  mountain  to  pray.  29  And  it  befell  that, 
as  he  was  praying,  the  appearance  of  his  face  was  altered,  and 
his  clothing  [became]  white,  emitting  flashes  like  lightning. 
30  And  behold,  two  men  were  talking  with  him,  who  were 
Moses  and  Elijah,  31  who  appeared  in  a  glory,  and  spoke  of 
his  [tragic]  end,  which  he  was  about  to  realize  at  Jerusalem. 
32  Now,  Petros  and  those  who  were  with  him  were  weighed 
down  with  sleep,  but  they  kept  awake,  and  saw  his  glory  and 
the  two  men  who  stood  with  him.  33  And  it  befell  that  as  these 
[men]  were  departing  from  him.  Petros  said  to  lesous: 

"Captain,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here ;  and  let  us  make  three 
dwelling-places,  one  for  you,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for 
Elijah" — not  knowing  what  he  is  saying. 

34  And  while  he  was  saying  these  things,  there  came  up  a 
cloud,  and  overshadowed  them;  and  they  feared  as  they  entered 
into  the  cloud.    35  And  a  voice  issued  from  the  cloud,  saying: 

"This  is  my  Son  who  has  been  singled  out;  hear  ye  him." 

36  And  when  the  voice  had  sounded,  lesous  was  found  alone. 
And  they  kept  silence,  and  reported  to  no  one  in  those  days  any 
of  the  things  which  they  had  seen. 

COMMENTARY 

The  transfiguration,  as  an  event  in  the  allegory,  should  take  place 
on  the  seventh  day  of  the  journey  to  the  sacred  city.  In  Mark  and 
Matthew  the  words  used  are,  "after  six  days,"  and  as  the  story  is 
dislocated,  this  apparently  refers  to  the  preceding  prediction  of  the 
crucifixion ;  hence  the  erroneous  statement  in  Luke  that  it  was 
"about  eight  days"  after  lesous  had  uttered  the  "sayings,"  or  doc- 
trines. It  is  only  in  Luke  that  the  disciples  are  said  to  have  become 
drowsy :  the  compiler  added  this  feature  in  imitation  of  the  scene 
in  the  enclosure  of  Gethsemane.     Here,  however,  it  is  pointless. 


738  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Cii.  IX.  37-45 

37  And  it  befell  on  the  next  day,  on  their  having  come  down  from 
the  mountain,  that  a  great  crowd  met  him.  38  And  behold,  a  man 
from  the  crowd  cried,  saying: 

"Teacher,  I  implore  you  to  look  upon  my  son,  f(jr  he  is  my  only- 
born  :  39  and  behold,  a  spirit  possesses  him,  and  on  a  sudden  he 
cries  out,  and  it  throws  him  into  convulsions,  with  froth,  and  with 
difficulty  it  departs  from  him,  breaking  him  all  up.  40  And  I 
begged  your  disciples,  that  they  should  cast  it  out,  and  they  were 
not  able." 

41  And  lesous  answered  and  said: 

"O  unbelieving  and  perverted  age,  until  when  sliall  I  Ijc  with  you, 
and  endure  you?    Bring  your  son  here." 

42  And  as  he  was  yet  coming  to  [lesous],  the  ghost  broke 
through  him,  and  threw  [him]  into  convulsions.  But  lesous  repri- 
manded the  unclean  spirit,  and  healed  the  boy.  and  gave  him  back 
to  his  father.  43  And  they  were  all  astounded  at  the  magnificence 
of  God. 

But  while  all  were  wondering  at  the  things  which  he  did,  he  said 
to  his  disciples : 

44  "Get  these  words  into  your  ears :  for  the  Son  of  man  is  about 
to  be  handed  over  into  the  hands  of  men." 

45  But  they  were  ignorant  of  this  saying,  and  it  was  veiled 
from  them,  that  thev  should  not  apprehend  it ;  and  they  were  afraid 
to  ask  him  about  this  saying. 

COMMENTARY 

One  may  well  be  astonished,  not  at  the  "magnificence"  of  God, 
but  at  the  fatuity  of  the  forgers  who  incorporated  these  wretchedly 
written  stories  in  the  text.  Here  a  case  of  epilepsy  is  regarded  as 
due  to  spirit-possession ;  the  disciples  lack  faith  and  the  power  to 
heal ;  and  lesous  is  as  petulant  as  an  undisciplined  child.  For  the 
second  time  the  disciples  are  told  that  lesous  will  be  betrayed,  yet, 
even  as  when  for  a  third  time  it  is  dinned  into  their  ears,  it  fails  to 
penetrate  to  their  understanding,  and  they  have  not  the  manliness 


THE  GOOD  TIDIXGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  739 

to  ask  for  a  clearer  statement  of  it.  Although  lesous,  in  language 
more  forcible  than  elegant,  tries  to  impress  it  upon  them,  their 
ignorance  is  invulnerable. 

Ch.  IX.  46-50 

46  And  there  came  up  a  discussion  among  them,  namely, 
which  of  them  was  the  more  mature.  47  But  when  lesous  saw 
the  discussion  [coming  from]  their  heart,  he  took  a  little  child, 
and  set  it  beside  him,    48  and  said  to  them: 

"Whoever  shall  receive  this  little  child  in  my  name  receives 
me;  and  whoever  receives  me  receives  him  who  sent  me:  for 
he  who  is  a  minor  among  you  all,  he  is  an  adult." 

49  And  loannes  answered  and  said: 

"Captain,  we  saw  a  [healer]  casting  out  ghosts  in  your  name, 
and  we  restrained  him,  because  he  does  not  go  along  after  us." 

50  But  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Do  not  restrain  him:  for  he  who  is  not  against  you  is  for 
you. 

COMMENTARY 

In  Mark  this  story  of  the  independent  healer  is  correctly  con- 
nected with  the  preceding  one,  in  which  lesous  takes  the  child  as 
his  text,  bv  the  words  (ix.  42),  "these  little  ones  that  believe  in  me"  : 
that  -is,  men  who,  like  the  healer  spoken  of  by  loannes,  are  doing 
the  Master's  work  in  his  name,  though  independently,  are  regarded 
as  children  of  the  kingdom.  But  the  discourse  upon  this  subject  no 
doubt  inculcated  a  doctrine  of  tolerance  which  the  priestly  forgers 
refused  to  endorse;  for  they  have  piously  mutilated  the  story,  trans- 
ferring part  of  it  to  a  place  further  on  in  the  text,  and  adding  to 
Mark  and  Matthew  some  of  the  most  offensive  forgeries  that  pro- 
fane their  pages.  Thus  Mark  ix.  43-x.  12,  which  reads  as  if  writ- 
ten by  some  monk  or  priest  fanatical  to  the  point  of  insanity,  is 
immediately  preceded  and  followed  by  excjuisitely  beautiful  and 
tender  discourses  on  the  subject  of  little  children,  to  whom  aspirants 
for  the  kingdom  are  likened.  In  Matthciv  the  same  lucubrations, 
somewhat  toned  down,  ha\e  been  placed  between  the  severed  por- 


740  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

tions  of  the  story,  together  with  the  parable  of  the  lost  sheep  (the 
parable  itself  being  here  an  estray),  a  law  of  church  discipline,  and 
the  nonsensical  "parable"  of  the  talents.  But  in  Luke  the  subject  of 
the  little  children  is  not  resumed  until  xviii.  15:  new  material 
amounting  to  about  nine  chapters,  according  to  the  present  division 
of  the  text,  has  been  added.  This  is  approximately  a  third  of  Luke, 
and  it  is  more  than  half  as  long  as  Mark.  This  section  of  Luke  has 
been  called  the  "periscope,"  or  comprehensive  summary,  though  in 
fact  it  is  nothing  of  the  sort:  it  is  a  collection  of  stories  and  dis- 
courses, which  are  loosely  strung  together  with  hardly  a  pretence 
of  orderly  arrangement.  It  is  clear  that  the  compiler  had  in  his 
possession,  besides  the  text  of  Mark,  a  number  of  stray  notes  which 
he  was  unable  to  fit  into  the  narrative,  and  that,  having  combined 
them  to  the  best  of  his  limited  ability,  he  made  an  insert  of  them  at 
this  place  where  the  text  of  Mark  had  already  been  severed  to  admit 
an  interpolation.  Most  of  the  matter  peculiar  to  Luke  (barring  the 
first  two  chapters  and  the  conclusion  in  the  last  chapter,  which  are 
wholly  spurious)  is  contained  in  this  so-called  periscope;  and  though 
some  of  the  "sayings"  it  contains  are  to  be  found  also  in  Matthew, 
it  has  but  a  few  sentences  that  are  duplicated  in  Mark,  and  these, 
as  shown  by  differences  in  the  wording,  were  probably  not  taken 
from  the  latter  Gospel. 

Ch.  IX.  51-56 

51  And  it  befell  that,  when  the  days  for  his  resumption  [of 
Godhood]  were  coming  to  the  full,  he  steadfastly  set  his  face 
to  go  to  Jerusalem,  52  and  sent  messengers  before  his  face; 
and  they  went  and  entered  into  a  village  of  the  Samaritans,  to 
make  ready  for  him.  53  And  [the  villagers]  did  not  receive 
him,  because  his  face  was  [set  for  his]  going  to  Jerusalem.  54 
And  when  his  disciples  lakobos  and  loannes  saw  [their  inhos- 
pitality],  they  said: 

"Master,  do  you  wish  [that]  we  should  call  fire  to  come  down 
from  the  sky,  and  consume  them,  [[even  as  Elijah  did]]?" 

55  But  he  turned  and  reprimanded  them,  [[and  said: 

"You  do  not  know  of  what  sort  of  spirit  you  are.     56  For  the 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  741 

Son  of  man  did  not  come  to  destroy  the  souls  of  men,  but  to  save 
them]]." 

And  they  went  to  another  village. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  periscope  begins.  lesous  starts  on  his  last  journey,  and 
the  day  of  his  crucifixion  has  drawn  near;  yet  after  he  has  begun 
the  journey  he  sends  out  the  seventy-two  disciples  (x.  i)  and  later 
on  receives  their  report.  According  to  Mark  (vi.  7,  in  which  the 
twelve  are  dishonestly  substituted  for  the  seventy-two)  he  sent 
them  out  before  the  picnic  at  which  the  loaves  and  fishes  were 
multiplied.  If  Luke  is  to  be  believed,  either  lesous  was  travelling 
in  very  leisurely  fashion,  or  the  disciples  made  but  a  very  short 
missionary  tour. 

Cii.  IX.  57-62 

57  And  as  they  were  going  on  the  road,  some  one  said  to 
him: 

"I  will  follow  you  wherever  you  go." 

58  And  lesous  said  to  him: 

"The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  sky  [have]  roosts; 
but  the  Son  of  man  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head." 

59  And  he  said  to  another: 
"Follow  me." 

But  he  said: 

"Master,  allow  me  to  go  and  bury  my  father." 

60  But  he  said  to  him: 

"Leave  the  'dead'  to  bury  their  own  dead;  but  go  you  and 
declare  the  kingdom  of  God." 

61  And  another  also  said: 

"I  will  follow  you,  Master ;  but  first  allow  me  to  bid  farewell 
to  those  at  my  house." 

62  But  lesous  said  to  him: 

"No  one  who  has  laid  his  hand  on  the  plow,  and  [yet]  keeps 
looking  at  the  things  that  are  behind,  is  adapted  for  the  king- 
dom of  God." 


742  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here,  as  frequently,  Luke  has  matter  that  is  found  also  in  Mat- 
thezv  but  not  in  Mark.  There  are,  however,  variations  in  the  word- 
ing, omissions,  dislocations  and  other  peculiarities  which  go  to  show 
that  neither  of  the  compilers  copied,  or  had  even  seen,  the  work 
of  the  otlier.  Presumably  they  both  had  additional  notes  of  the 
Mystery-drama,  each  set  of  notes  only  partly  duplicating  the  other 
set;  for  each  of  these  Gospels  contains  valuable  material  which  the 
other  lacks. 

Chapter  x.  i-i6 

I  Now,  after  these  things  the  Master  consecrated  seventy- 
two  others,  and  sent  them  two  by  two  before  his  face  into  every 
city  and  place  where  he  himself  was  about  to  come.  2  And  he 
said  to  them: 

"The  harvest  indeed  is  heavy,  but  the  laborers  are  few;  there- 
fore supplicate  the  Master  of  the  harvest,  that  he  may  send  out 
laborers  to  his  harvest.  3  Go  [on  your  mission]  ;  behold,  I  am 
sending  you  forth  as  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  4  Carry 
no  purse,  no  provision-bag,  no  sandals;  and  salute  no  one  on 
the  road.  5  And  into  whatever  house  you  may  enter  first,  say, 
'Peace  to  this  house.'  6  And  if  a  son  of  peace  be  there,  your 
peace  shall  rest  upon  it;  but  if  not,  it  shall  return  to  you.  7 
And  in  that  same  house  abide,  eating  and  drinking  the  things 
[provided]  by  them;  for  the  laborer  is  w^orthy  of  his  hire.  Do 
not  go  from  house  to  house.  ...  8  And  into  whatever  city 
you  may  enter,  and  they  receive  you,  eat  the  things  set  before 
you,  9  and  heal  those  in  it  who  are  ill,  and  say  to  them,  'The 
kingdom  of  God  has  drawn  near  to  you.'  10  But  into  whatever 
city  you  may  enter,  and  they  do  not  receive  you,  go  out  into 
its  streets  and  say,  1 1  'Even  the  dust  from  your  city  adhering 
to  our  feet  we  wipe  off  against  you;  yet  know  this,  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  has  drawn  near  [  [to  you]  ].'  12  I  say  to  you, 
It  shall  be  more  endurable  in  that  day  for  Sodom  than  for  that  city ! 
13  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin!     Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida!     For  if 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  743 

the  magic  feats  which  have  been  performed  in  you  had  been  per- 
formed in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago, 
sitting  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  14  Yet  it  shall  be  more  endurable 
for  Tyre  and  Sidon,  in  the  judgment,  than  for  you.  15  And  shalt 
thou,  Kapernaum,  'be  exalted  to  heaven"?  Thou  'shalt  go  dozen 
to  the  nnderzvorld  '  16  He  who  hears  you  hears  me;  and  he  who 
rejects  me  rejects  him  who  sent  me." 

COMMENTARY 

The  compiler  of  Mark  eliminated  the  seventy-two ;  but  the  com- 
piler of  Luke,  finding  the  seventy-two  in  the  notes  which  he  incor- 
porated in  the  text,  reinstated  the  discarded  "messengers,"  though 
not  according  them  their  true  place  in  the  narrative.  He  has  merely 
inserted,  among  the  odds  and  ends  of  which  the  periscope  is  com- 
posed, the  story  of  the  sending  forth  and  return  of  the  seventy-two 
"apostles" ;  but  by  so  doing  he  has  betrayed  the  dishonest  artifice 
of  the  compiler  of  Mark.  In  ix.  1-6,  10  he  has  copied  from  the  text 
of  Mark,  erroneously  giving  to  the  twelve  the  instructions  that 
should  be  addressed  to  the  seventy-two,  but  has  made  an  attempt  to 
straighten  out  the  tangle  by  omitting  the  second  missionary  tour. 
Here,  however,  he  gives  the  correct  version,  derived  from  a  purer 
source.  The  tirade  against  the  unrepentant  cities  is  here  made  a 
part  of  the  discourse  of  lesous  to  the  seventy-two.  It  is  dislocated 
in  Matthew  (xi.  20),  where  it  is  addressed  to  the  "crowds"  on  a 
different  occasion. 

Cii.  X.  17-20 

17  And  the  seventy-two  returned  with  joy,  saying: 
"Master,  even  the  Genii  are  subject  to  us  in  your  name." 

18  And  he  said  to  them: 

"I  was  beholding  the  Adversary  falling  like  lightning  from 
the  sky.  19  Behold,  I  have  given  you  power  'to  walk  over 
snakes'  and  scorpions,  and  against  all  the  magic  art  of  the 
Enemy;  and  nothing  shall  at  all  injure  you.  20  Yet  do  not 
rejoice  in  this,  that  the  spirits  are  subject  to  you;  but  rejoice 
that  your  names  are  written  in  the  skies." 


744  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here  lesotis  himself  testifies  that  the  seventy-two  messengers 
have  their  names  inscribed  on  the  starry  vault.  No  better  evidence 
of  their  stellar  character  need  be  required.  In  verse  17  the  word 
daimonia  seems  to  have  its  usual  "pagan"  signification,  applying  to 
the  lesser  Deities. 

Ch.  X.  21-24 

21  In  that  same  hour  he  exulted  in  the  sacred  Air,  and  said: 
"I  praise  thee,  O  Father,  Master  of  the  sky  and  the  earth,  that 
thou  didst  hide  these  things  from  the  learned  and  the  intelligent, 
and  didst  unveil  them  to  infants :  yea.  Father,  for  thus  it  was  rightly 
intended  before  thee.  22  All  things  have  been  handed  over  to  me 
by  my  Father.  And  no  one  knows  who  the  Son  is,  except  the  Fa- 
ther; and  who  the  Father  is,  except  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever 
the  Son  is  minded  to  unveil  [him]." 

23  And  turning  to  the  disciples,  he  said  privately: 
"Blessed  [are]  the  eyes  which  see  the  things  which  you  see :    24 
for  I  say  to  you.  Many  prophets  and  kings  desired  to  see  the  things 
which  you  see,  and  did  not  see  them;  and  to  hear  the  things  which 
you  hear,  and  did  not  hear  them." 

COMMENTARY 

It  is  not  clear  what  is  meant  by  "these  things"  that  are  hidden 
from  mature  and  cultured  minds  but  revealed  to  infants;  and  it  is 
uncertain  whether  the  latter  word  is  used  in  its  literal  sense  or  meta- 
phorically for  childish  and  ignorant  persons.  In  the  genuine  por- 
tions of  the  text  the  state  of  childhood  is  taken  as  exemplifying  the 
innocence  and  purity  which  are  necessary  qualifications  in  the  attain- 
ment of  spiritual  consciousness;  but  here  learning  and  intelligence 
are  held  to  be  disqualifications,  and  God  is  praised  for  revealing 
"these  things,"  whatever  they  are,  to  the  mindless  and  concealing 
them  from  those  who  have  knowledge  and  discernment.  The  state- 
ment about  the  Father  and  the  Son  is  only  one  of  the  pseudo-mysti- 
cal dogmas  in  which  theologians  delight. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  745 

Ch.  X.  25-37 

25  And  behold,  a  certain  lawyer  stood  up,  putting  him  to  a  test, 
saying : 

"Teacher,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?" 

26  And  he  said  to  him : 

"What  is  written  in  the  law  ?    How  do  you  read  it  ?" 

27  And  he,  answering,  said : 

"  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  Master-God  zcith  all  thy  heart,  and  zvith 
all  thy  soul,  and  zvith  all  thy  strength,  and  zvith  all  thy  mind' ;  and 
[shalt  love]  'thy  neighbor  as  thyself.'  " 

28  And  he  said  to  him  : 

"You  have  answered  correctly.  'Do  this,  and  you  shall  lire'  [for- 
ever]." 

29  But  he,  wishing  to  justify  himself,  said  to  lesous : 
"And  who  is  my  'neighbor'  ?" 

30  Replying,  lesous  said : 

"A  certain  man  was  going  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho ;  and 
he  fell  in  with  bandits,  who  both  stripped  him  and  inflicted  wounds 
[on  him],  and  went  away,  leaving  him  half  dead.  31  And  by 
chance  a  certain  priest  was  going  down  on  that  road,  and  when  he 
saw  him  he  passed  by  on  the  opposite  side.  32  And  in  like  manner 
a  Levite  also,  when  he  came  to  the  place  and  saw  him,  passed  by  on 
the  opposite  side.  33  But  a  certain  Samaritan,  while  travelling, 
came  near  him;  and  when  he  saw  him,  his  heart  was  stirred,  34 
and  he  came  to  him,  and  bound  up  his  wounds,  pouring  on  oil  and 
wine,  and  having  put  him  on  his  own  beast,  he  brought  him  to  a 
caravansary,  and  took  care  of  him.  35  And  on  the  morrow,  [[as 
he  went  forth]],  he  took  out  two  denarii,  and  gave  them  to  the 
keeper  of  the  caravansary,  and  said,  'Take  care  of  him,  and  what- 
ever you  expend  besides  [this  sum],  I  will  repay  you  on  my  return.' 
36  Which  of  these  three,  in  your  opinion,  behaved  as  a  neighbor 
to  him  who  fell  in  with  the  bandits  ?" 

And  he  said: 

"He  who  showed  compassion  towards  him." 


746  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

37  And  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Go,  and  do  you  show  [it]  hkewise." 

CQMMENTARY 

In  Mark  (xii.  28-34)  there  is  a  discussion  between  lesous  and 
a  scribe  as  to  which  is  the  chief  comman(hnent.  The  moral  of  it  is 
that  neighborly  love  is  superior  to  ritualistic  observances;  but  the 
moral  is  obscured  by  pious  interpolations,  and  is  wholly  obliterated 
in  the  version  of  the  story  given  in  Mattliciv  (xxii.  34-40),  in  which 
the  "scribe"  is  also  a  "lawyer."  As  this  story  is  not  in  Luke,  it 
would  seem  that  the  compiler  rejected  it,  and  then  attempted  to 
improve  upon  it  by  writing  this  story  of  the  good  Samaritan,  which 
is  intended  to  give  a  concrete  example  of  neighborly,  or  more 
properly  brotherly,  love.  But,  while  the  moral  is  excellent,  the 
story  itself  will  not  stand  close  scrutiny.  The  Samaritan  performed 
only  an  act  of  ordinary  humanity,  and  not  something  heroic  or  self- 
sacrificing.  The  story  libels  the  Jewish  priests  and  Levites,  and  by 
implication  even  casts  a  slur  upon  the  Samaritans  as  a  peojjle ;  and 
the  words  addressed  to  the  lawyer,  exhorting  him  to  be  as  humane 
as  the  Samaritan,  carry  with  them  the  insinuation  that  possibly  he 
was  as  hard-hearted  as  were  the  priest  and  the  Levite  who  figure 
in  this  rather  cynical  story. 

Ch.  X.  38-42 

38  Now,  as  they  journeyed,  he  entered  into  a  certain  village ; 
and  a  certain  woman,  Martha  by  name,  received  him  into  her  house. 
39  And  she  had  a  sister  called  Mariam,  who  also  sat  down  at  the 
Master's  feet,  and  was  listening  to  his  doctrine.  40  But  Martha 
was  distracted  by  much  serving  [of  the  dinner],  and  she  came  up 
to  him,  and  said : 

"Master,  does  it  not  concern  you  that  my  sister  has  left  me  to 
serve  [the  dinner]  alone?     Speak  to  her,  then,  that  she  help  me." 

41   But  the  Master  answered  and  said  to  her: 

"Martha,  Martha,  you  are  worried  and  disturbed  about  many 
things.  42  But  there  is  need  of  few  things,  or  one ;  and  Mariam 
has  chosen  the  good  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  747 

COMMENTARY 

Martha  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Synoptics;  here  she 
seems  to  have  strayed  into  the  text  by  some  mistake  of  the  compiler 
in  arranging  the  material  of  the  periscope.  According  to  John  she 
and  ]\Iariam  were  sisters  of  Lazaros,  and  it  is  this  IMariam  who 
anointed  the  feet  of  lesous.  But,  no  matter  what  she  may  be  in 
that  Gospel,  Martha  has  no  legitimate  part  to  play  in  the  Synoptic 
allegory,  even  as  a  Christian  incarnation  of  Hestia,  the  Roman 
Vesta,  Goddess  of  hearth  and  home. 

Chapter  xi.  1-4 

1  And  it  befell,  as  he  was  praying  in  a  certain  place,  that  when 
he  ceased  one  of  his  disciples  said  to  him : 

"Master,  teach  us  to  pray,  even  as  loannes  also  taught  his  dis- 
ciples." 

2  And  he  said  to  them: 

"When  you  pray,  say:  [[Our]]  Father,  [[who  art  in  the 
skies]],  consecrated  be  thy  name;  thy  realm  be  established; 
[[thy  holy  Breath  come  to  us  and  purify  us]];  thy  will  be 
accomplished,  [[as  in  the  sky,  also  on  the  earth]];  3  our 
bread,  destined  for  the  morrow,  bestow  on  us  daily;  4  and 
forgive  us  our  sins,  [[for  we  ourselves  forgive  every  one  who 
is  indebted  to  us]];  and  carry  us  not  into  temptation,  [[but 
shield  us  from  the  Evil  [Genius]  ]]." 

COMMENTARY 

This  version  of  the  model  prayer,  as  compared  with  that  in 
Mattheiv,  is  but  an  unmetrical  fragment ;  and  in  both  Gospels  the 
prayer  is  dislocated.  Here  it  has  properly  no  "historical"  setting; 
the  statement  by  which  it  is  introduced  is  merely  a  poor  device  of 
the  compiler  to  connect  it,  however  vaguely,  with  the  narrative. 
The  clauses  here  placed  in  double  brackets  have  no  good  authority 
in  the  manuscripts,  and  are  clearly  the  work  of  belated  improvers 
of  the  text. 


748  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  XI.  5-13 

5  And  lie  said  to  them : 

"Who  among  you  shall  have  a  friend,  and  shall  go  to  him  at 
midnight,  and  say  to  him,  'Friend,  lend  me  three  loaves;  6  for  a 
friend  of  mine  is  come  to  me  from  a  journey,  and  I  have  nothing 
to  set  before  him';  7  and  he  from  within  should  answer  and  say, 
'Do  not  put  me  to  trouble ;  already  the  door  has  been  shut,  and  my 
children  are  with  me  in  bed;  I  can  not  rise  and  give  [the  loaves] 
to  you'  ?  8  I  say  to  you,  Although  he  will  not  rise  and  give  [them] 
to  him  because  he  is  his  friend,  yet  because  of  his  cool  assurance 
he  will  rise  and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needs.  9  And  I  say  to  you, 
Ask,  and  it  shall  be  granted  you;  seek,  and  you  shall  find; 
knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you.  10  For  every  one  who 
keeps  asking  receives,  and  [every  one]  who  keeps  seeking 
finds,  and  to  [every  one]  who  keeps  knocking  it  shall  be  opened, 
II  And  of  which  of  you  w^ho  is  a  father  shall  his  son  ask  [[a 
loaf,  and  he  give  him  a  stone,  or]]  a  fish,  and  he  instead  of  a 
fish  give  him  a  snake?  12  Or  also  he  asks  an  egg — he  will  not 
give  him  a  scorpion,  will  he?  13  If  you,  then,  who  are  wicked, 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more 
shall  your  Father  from  the  sky  give  the  sacred  Air  to  those 
who  keep  asking  him?" 

COMMENTARY 

This  discourse  appended  to  "the  Lord's  prayer"  is  homely  to  the 
point  of  coarseness.  The  prayer  itself,  as  found  in  Matthew,  is 
mystical,  referring  to  the  "bread  of  life."  Mere  verbal  petitions, 
addressed  to  an  anthropomorphic  God  in  the  hope  of  receiving  ma- 
terial benefits,  are  not  the  asking  intended  in  that  noble  petition, 
which  is  recommended  to  all  disciples  seeking  the  divine  kingdom. 
They  alone  can  comprehend  fully  its  spiritual  meaning. 

Ch.  XI.  14-28 

14  And  he  was  casting  out  a  ghost  [[and  it  was]]  dumb. 
And  it  befell  that  when  the  ghost  had  gone  out  the  dumb 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  749 

man  spoke ;  and  the  crowds  wondered.  1 5  But  some  of  them 
said: 

"By  Beelzeboul,  the  king  of  the  ghosts,  he  is  casting  out  the 
ghosts." 

(16  And  others,  putting  [him]  to  a  test,  were  seeking  from 
him  a  sign  from  the  sky.)  17  But  he,  knowing  their  thoughts, 
said  to  them: 

"Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  is  devastated,  and 
house  falls  upon  house.  18  And  if  the  Adversary  is  divided 
against  himself,  how  shall  his  kingdom  stand?  Because  you 
say  that  I  am  casting  out  ghosts  by  Beelzeboul.  19  And  if  I 
by  Beelzeboul  am  casting  out  ghosts,  by  whom  do  your  sons 
cast  them  out?  Therefore  they  shall  be  your  judges.  20  But 
if  I  by  the  finger  of  God  am  casting  out  ghosts,  then  the  king- 
dom of  God  has  taken  you  unawares.  21  When  the  strong 
[warrior],  heavily  armed,  is  guarding  his  own  mansion,  his 
belongings  are  in  peace ;  22  but  whenever  one  who  is  stronger 
than  he  shall  come  upon  and  conquer  him,  he  takes  away  from 
him  his  panoply  in  which  he  had  trusted,  and  distributes  his 
spoils.  23  He  who  is  not  with  me  is  against  me ;  and  he  who 
does  not  join  with  me  dissipates  [his  forces].  24  The  unclean 
spirit,  when  it  has  gone  out  from  the  man,  wanders  about  in 
waterless  places,  seeking  respite  [from  its  torments],  and  find- 
ing no  [respite],  it  says,  'I  shall  return  to  my  house  whence  I 
came  out';  25  and  when  it  comes  it  finds  it  swept  and  deco- 
rated. 26  Then  it  goes  and  takes  [with  itself]  seven  other 
spirits  more  wicked  than  itself,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell 
there;  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  becomes  worse  than  the 
first." 

27  And  it  befell  that  as  he  said  these  things  a  certain  woman 
from  the  crowd  lifted  up  her  voice,  and  said  to  him: 

"Blessed  is  the  belly  that  carried  you,  and  the  breasts  which  you 
sucked !" 

28  But  he  said : 

"Yea,  rather,  blessed  are  they  who  hear  the  doctrine  of  God,  and 
observe  it," 


750  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The  historian,  recording  events  which  were  fully  established  on 
the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses,  has  endeavored  to  be  scrupulously 
exact  in  referring  to  places  and  persons:  a  certain  woman,  a  certain 
man,  a  certain  centurion,  or  a  certain  lawyer,  does  or  says  some- 
thing at  a  certain  city,  a  certain  village,  or  a  certain  place.  But  it 
would  take  more  faith  than  would  be  needed  for  the  removal  of  a 
chain  of  mountains  to  believe  that  the  interchange  of  platitudes  be- 
tween lesous  and  a  certain  (vulgar)  woman  was  recorded  by  the 
same  pen  that  wrote  the  superb  allegory  of  the  panoplied  warrior 
and  the  graphic  story  of  the  haunting  spirit. 

Ch.  XI.  29-36 

29  And  w^hen  the  crowds  were  thronging  to  [him],  he  began 
to  say: 

"This  age  is  a  wicked  age :  it  keeps  seeking  after  a  sign ;  and 
no  sign  shall  be  given  it  except  the  sign  of  Jonah.  30  For  even 
as  Jonah  became  a  sign  to  the  Ninevites,  so  shall  also  the  Son 
of  man  be  [a  sign]  to  this  age.  31  The  queen  of  the  south  shall 
rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  the  men  of  this  age,  and  shall  condemn 
them :  for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  hear  Solomon's 
philosophy;  and  behold,  something  more  than  Solomon  is  here.  32 
The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  stand  up  in  the  judgment  with  this  age, 
and  shall  condemn  it :  for  they  reformed  at  the  proclamation  of 
Jonah ;  and  behold,  something  more  than  Jonah  is  here. 

33  "No  one,  when  he  has  lighted  a  lamp,  puts  it  in  a  vault, 
nor  under  the  grain-measure,  but  on  the  lampstand,  that  they 
who  enter  may  see  its  light.  34  The  lamp  of  your  body  is  your 
eye :  when  your  eye  is  single,  your  whole  body  is  illuminated ; 
but  when  it  is  unsound,  your  [whole]  body  also  is  dark.  35 
Look  to  it,  then,  lest  the  light  w^hich  is  in  you  is  darkness.  36 
If,  therefore,  your  whole  body  is  illuminated,  having  no  part 
dark,  it  shall  be  all  illuminated,  as  when  the  lamp  with  its  eif  ul- 
gence  affords  you  light." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  751 

COMMENTARY 

The  simile  of  the  lamp  is  found  also  in  viii.  16,  where  it  occupies 
the  same  position  in  the  text  that  it  does  in  Mark.  Here  the  com- 
piler, working  in  additional  notes,  which,  as  in  the  incident  of  the 
sending  forth  of  the  seventy-two  messengers,  overlapped  the  text 
of  Mark  in  places,  has  inadvertently  repeated  the  "saying."  The 
compiler  of  Mat  then' ,  embarrassed  by  an  even  greater  wealth  of 
material,  has  in  the  same  way  made  many  repetitions.  It  may  be 
urged,  in  excuse  of  the  slipshod  work  of  these  "historians,"  that 
they  were  literary  amateurs,  unused  to  the  critical  labor  of  collating 
manuscripts. 

Ch.  XI.  37-54 

2)7  Now,  as  he  spoke,  a  Pharisee  asked  him  that  he  would  break- 
fast with  him;  and  he  entered,  and  reclined  [at  table].  38  But  the 
Pharisee,  seeing  it,  wondered  that  he  had  not  first  washed  himself 
before  breakfast.     39  And  the  Master  said  to  him : 

"Now  you,  the  Pharisees,  cleanse  the  outside  of  the  cup  and 
of  the  dish,  but  the  inside  of  you  is  full  of  rapacity  and  wicked- 
ness. 40  You  fools,  did  not  he  who  made  the  outside  make 
the  inside  also?  41  But  give  the  things  which  are  within  [the 
cup  and  the  dish]  as  alms — and  behold,  all  things  are  clean  to 
you! 

42  "But  woe  to  you,  Pharisees !  For  you  pay  tithes  of  mint 
and  rue  and  every  herb,  and  disregard  the  judgment  and  the 
love  of  God;  but  these  things  you  ought  to  have  done,  and  not 
to  have  disregarded  those.  43  Woe  to  you,  Pharisees !  For 
you  love  the  front  seats  in  the  synagogues,  and  the  salutations 
in  the  market-places.  44  Woe  to  you!  For  you  are  like  indis- 
tinct monuments,  and  the  men  who  walk  over  [their  ruins]  do 
not  know  it." 

45  And  one  of  the  lawyers,  answering,  says  to  him : 
"Teacher,  in  saying  these  things  you  are  affronting  us  also." 

46  And  he  said: 

"Woe  to  you,  lawyers,  also !    For  you  load  men  with  burdens 


752  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

grievous  to  be  borne,  and  you  yourselves  do  not  touch  the  bur- 
dens with  one  of  your  fingers.  47  Woe  to  you !  For  you  build 
the  monuments  of  the  seers — and  your  fathers  killed  them! 
48  Therefore  you  are  witnesses  and  accessories  to  the  works 
of  your  fathers:  for  they  killed  them,  and  you  build  [[their 
monuments]].  49  For  this  reason  the  Knowledge  of  God  said, 
*I  will  send  them  prophets  and  messengers,  and  some  of  them 
they  will  kill  and  drive  away,  50  that  the  blood  of  all  the 
prophets,  which  has  been  poured  out  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world,  may  1)e  exacted  of  this  age,  51  from  the  blood  of 
A])el  to  the  blood  of  Zachariah,  who  perished  between  the  altar 
and  the  house.'  Aye,  I  say  to  yon.  It  shall  be  exacted  of  this 
age.  52  Woe  to  you,  lawyers!  For  you  took  away  the  key  of 
the  Gndsis:  you  yourselves  did  not  enter  in,  and  those  who 
were  about  to  enter  in  you  prevented." 

53  And  when  he  had  come  out  from  there,  the  scribes  and  the 
Pharisees  began  to  be  terribly  exasperated  against  him,  and  to  draw 
him  into  making  hasty  statements  about  more  things ;  54  lying  in 
ambush  for  him,  to  catch  something  out  of  his  mouth,  that  they 
might  prefer  charges  against  him. 

COMMENTARY 

In  verse  39  the  Pharisees  are  confused  with  the  cup  and  the  dish ; 
and  verse  41  is  obscurely  worded,  owing  to  a  lacuna,  but  becomes 
clear  when  the  words  "the  cup  and  the  dish"  are  supplied,  and  it 
then  takes  a  sarcastic  sense,  though  it  is  not  a  particularly  brilliant 
remark.     Verse  40  is  a  theological  platitude. 

The  prophecy  (verse  49)  credited  to  God's  Knowledge  (or  pos- 
sibly to  a  real  or  an  imaginary  book  so  entitled)  is  recorded  in  Mat- 
thew (xxiii.  34)  as  an  original  statement  made  by  lesous  himself. 

Chapter  xii.  1-12 

I  Meanwhile,  when  the  tens  of  thousands  of  the  crowd  had  gath- 
ered together  so  that  they  trampled  on  one  another,  he  began  to  say 
to  his  disciples  primarily: 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  753 

"Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy.  2 
But  there  is  nothing  closely  veiled  which  shall  not  be  unveiled,  and 
concealed  which  shall  not  be  known.  3  Wherefore  whatever  you 
have  said  in  the  darkness  shall  be  heard  in  the  light;  and  whatever 
you  have  spoken  in  the  treasure-vaults  shall  be  proclaimed  upon 
the  housetops.  4  But  I  say  to  you,  my  friends,  Have  no  fear  on 
account  of  those  who  kill  the  body,  and  afterward  have  nothing 
further  that  they  can  do.  5  But  I  will  indicate  to  you  whom  you 
should  fear:  fear  him  who  after  he  has  killed  [the  body]  has  au- 
thority to  throw  [the  soul]  into  Hinnom-valley — aye,  fear  him! 
6  Are  not  five  sparrows  sold  for  two  pence?  And  not  one  of  them 
is  left  uncared  for  in  the  presence  of  God.  7  But  even  the  hairs 
of  your  head  are  numbered.  Do  not  fear:  you  excel  many  spar- 
rows. 8  And  I  say  to  you.  Every  one  who  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  the  Son  of  man  also  shall  confess  him  before  the  Divinities  of 
God ;  9  but  he  who  has  disowned  me  before  men  shall  be  dis- 
owned before  the  Divinities  of  God.  10  And  whoever  shall  speak 
a  [profane]  word  as  to  the  Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him; 
but  to  him  who  shall  speak  profanely  as  to  the  sacred  Air,  it  shall  not 
be  forgiven.  11  And  when  they  bring  you  before  the  synagogues, 
and  the  magistrates,  and  the  authorities,  do  not  be  concerned  about 
how  [  [or  what]  ]  you  shall  speak  in  your  defence,  or  what  you 
shall  say:  12  for  the  sacred  Air  will  teach  you  in  that  very  hour 
what  you  ought  to  say." 

COMMENTARY 

Hypocrisy  is  a  concealing  of  vice  under  a  false  appearance  of 
virtue,  a  veiling  of  one's  true  character;  under  the  law  of  the  asso- 
ciation of  ideas,  therefore,  the  compiler  passes  gracefully  from  the 
subject  of  hypocrisy  to  the  "saying"  about  veiled  mysteries  and 
concealed  truths.  By  a  similar  transition  he  reaches  the  subject 
of  persecution  and  martyrdom :  whoever  betrays  secrets  or  reveals 
truths  is  liable  to  be  persecuted  and  even  put  to  death,  but  the  loss 
of  the  mortal  body  is  less  dreadful  than  it  is  to  have  the  Devil  throw 
one's  immortal  soul  into  Hinnom-valley.  And  so  the  discourse 
flows  on,  not  incoherently,  but  with  an  admirable  sequence  of  ideas; 


754  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

and  no  doubt  the  "tens  of  thousands  of  the  crowd"  who  were  tram- 
phng  upon  one  anotlier  to  hear  these  words  of  wisdom  were,  as 
usual,  filled  with  astonishment  and  admiration. 

Ch.  XII.  13-21 

13  And  one  of  the  crowd  said  to  him: 

"Teacher,  tell  my  brother  to  share  tlie  inheritance  with  me." 

14  But  he  said  to  him: 

"Man,  who  appointed  me  a  judge  or  an  arbitrator  over  you?" 

15  And  to  them  he  said  : 

"Take  care,  and  keep  yourselves  from  covetousness :  for  a  man's 
life  is  not  in  abundance  according  to  his  [material]   possessions." 

16  And  he  spoke  an  allegory  to  them,  saying: 

"The  farm  of  a  certain  rich  man  was  productive;  17  and  he 
reasoned  within  himself,  saying: 

"  'What  shall  I  do,  because  I  have  not  where  to  gather  in  my 
fruits?' 

18  "And  he  said: 

"  'This  will  I  do :  I  shall  pull  down  my  granaries,  and  build 
greater  ones ;  and  there  I  shall  gather  in  all  my  grain  and  my  goods. 
19  And  I  shall  say  to  my  soul,  "Soul,  you  have  many  good  things 
in  store  for  many  years;  [[take  rest,  eat,  drink]],  rejoice."  ' 

20  "But  God  said  to  him : 

"  'Fool,  this  night  they  demand  your  soul  of  you;  and  the  things 
W'hich  you  have  got  ready — whose  shall  they  be?' 

[[21  "So  is  he  who  stores  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not 
rich  tow^ard  God]]." 

COMMENTARY 

A  man  who  desires  to  receive  his  share  of  an  inheritance  is  ac- 
cused of  covetousness;  and  a  prosperous  farmer  who  rejoices  over 
his  abundant  crops  is  called  a  fool,  because  he  did  not  foreknow 
that  the  hand  of  death  was  soon  to  be  laid  upon  him.  The  moral 
appended  to  the  first  story  is  ambiguously  worded :  it  may  mean 
that  a  man's  life  is  not  commensurate  with  his  possessions,  or  that 
it  does  not  consist  of  the  abundance  of  his  possessions,  or  that  even 


THE  GOOD  TIDL\GS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  755 

in  his  abundance  his  hfe  is  not  derived  from  his  possessions.  In 
whatever  way  it  is  understood,  it  is  a  platitude.  The  second  story 
conchides  with  a  question.  \\'hen  the  farmer  is  dead,  who  shall 
receive  his  property?  The  answer  would  seem  to  be  that  his  heirs 
will  receive  it. 

Ch.  XII.  22-59 

22  And  he  said  to  his  disciples : 

"For  this  reason  I  say  to  you,  Do  not  concentrate  your  mind 
on  the  vital  principle,  what  you  should  eat ;  nor  yet  on  the  body, 
what  you  should  put  on.  2^  The  vital  principle  is  more  than 
the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  raiment.  24  Consider  the  ra- 
vens, that  they  neither  sow  nor  reap,  who  have  no  treasure- 
vault  nor  granary;  and  God  feeds  them.  Of  how  much  more 
value  are  you  than  the  birds?  25  And  which  of  you  is  able  by 
mental  concentration  to  add  [[one]]  cubit  to  his  stature?  26 
If,  then,  you  are  not  able  [to  control]  even  the  least,  why  do 
you  concentrate  your  mind  on  the  rest?  2"]  Contemplate  the 
lilies,  how  they  grow:  they  do  not  toil,  nor  do  they  spin;  but 
I  say  to  you,  Not  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  clothed  like 
one  of  these.  28  But  if  God  thus  arrays  the  herbage  of  the 
field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  thrown  into  the  oven, 
how  much  more  [shall  he  array]  you,  ye  scant-faiths?  29  And 
do  not  seek  what  you  shall  eat,  and  what  you  shall  drink;  and 
yet  do  not  be  impractical.  30  For  the  heathens  of  the  world 
keep  seeking  for  all  these  things ;  and  your  Father  knows  that 
you  have  need  of  these  things.  31  But  seek  the  kingdom  [[of 
God]],  and  these  things  shall  be  added  to  you.  ^2  Fear  not, 
little  flock;  for  your  Father  has  graciously  consented  to  give 
you  the  kingdom.  33  Sell  your  possessions,  and  give  alms; 
make  for  yourselves  purses  that  do  not  grow  old,  an  unfailing 
treasure  in  the  skies,  where  no  thief  draws  near,  nor  moth  de- 
stroys. 34  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  be  your  heart 
also. 

35  "Let  your  loins  be  girdled,  and  your  lamps  burning,  36  and 
yourselves  be  like  to  men  waiting  for  their  master  when  he  shall 


756  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

return  from  the  wedding-feast,  that  when  he  comes  and  knocks, 
they  may  immediately  open  [the  door]  to  him.  37  Blessed  are 
those  slaves  whom  the  master,  when  he  comes,  shall  find  watching: 
amen,  I  say  to  yon,  He  shall  put  on  an  apron,  and  make  them  recline 
[at  table],  and  disregarding  [his  rank]  shall  wait  on  them.  38 
And  if  he  comes  in  the  second  watch,  and  if  in  the  third,  and  finds 
[them]  so,  blessed  are  those  [[slaves]].  39  But  you  know  this, 
that  if  the  house-lord  had  known  in  what  hour  the  thief  is  coming, 
he  would  have  w^atched,  and  not  have  left  his  house  to  be  broken 
into.  40  And  do  you  get  ready :  for  at  an  hour  when  you  are  not 
expecting  him,  the  Son  of  man  is  coming." 

41  And  Petros  said: 

"Master,  are  you  speaking  this  allegory  as  to  us,  or  also  as  to 
all?" 

42  And  the  Master  said : 

"Who,  then,  is  the  faithful  and  prudent  steward,  whom  his  mas- 
ter shall  set  over  his  household,  to  give  [the  slaves]  their  rations 
in  due  season  ?  43  Blessed  is  that  slave  w'hom  his  master  when  he 
comes  shall  find  doing  thus.  44  Truly  I  say  to  you,  He  will  set 
him  over  all  his  possessions.  45  But  if  that  slave  should  say  in  his 
heart,  'My  master  is  delaying,'  and  should  begin  to  beat  the  slave- 
boys  and  the  slave-girls,  and  to  eat  and  drink,  and  to  get  drunk,  46 
the  master  of  that  slave  will  come  on  a  day  in  which  he  is  not  look- 
ing for  [him],  and  at  an  hour  when  he  does  not  know,  and  shall 
cut  him  in  two,  and  assign  his  portion  with  the  faithless.  47  But 
that  slave  who  knew  his  master's  will,  and  did  not  get  ready,  nor 
did  agreeable  to  his  will,  shall  be  flogged  with  many  [strokes]. 
48  But  he  who  did  not  know,  and  did  [things]  worthy  of  strokes, 
shall  be  flogged  with  few  [strokes].  And  every  one  to  whom 
much  has  been  given,  much  will  be  required  of  him;  and  with 
whom  they  have  deposited  much,  the  more  strictly  will  they 
demand  [it]  of  him.  49  I  have  come  to  sow  fire  in  the  earth, 
and  why  should  I  desire  ...  if  it  be  already  kindled?  50 
But  I  have  a  lustral-rite  to  be  lustrated  with,  and  O  how  I 
am  constrained  till  it  is  accomplished!  51  Do  you  opine  that 
I  have  come  to  bestow  peace  in  the  earth?    I  say  to  you,  Not 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  757 

SO,  but  rather  division:  52  for  there  shall  be  from  henceforth 
five  in  one  house  divided,  three  against  two,  and  two  against  three. 
53  They  shall  be  divided,  father  against  son,  and  'son  against  fa- 
ther'; mother  against  daughter,  and  'daughter  against  her  mother'; 
mother-in-law  against  her  daughter-in-law,  and  'daughter-in-law 
against  her  mother-in-laiv.'  " 

54  And  to  the  crowds  also  he  said : 

"When  you  see  a  cloud  rising  in  the  west,  immediately  you 
say,  *A  thunder-shower  is  coming,'  and  it  so  befalls;  55  and 
when  [you  see]  a  south  wind  blowing,  you  say,  'There  will  be 
hot  weather,'  and  it  befalls.  56  Hypocrites,  you  know  [how] 
to  discern  the  face  of  the  earth  and  the  sky ;  but  how  is  it  that 
you  do  not  know  how  to  discern  this  season?  57  And  why 
even  of  yourselves  do  you  not  judge  what  is  right  ?  58  For  as  you 
are  going  with  the  party  adverse  to  you  before  the  magistrate,  on 
the  road  work  busily  to  be  rid  of  him,  lest  he  should  drag  you  away 
to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  should  hand  you  over  to  the  officer  [who 
exacts  dues],  and  the  officer  should  throw  you  into  prison.  59  I 
say  to  you,  You  shall  not  at  all  come  out  from  there  until  you  shall 
have  paid  the  last  mean  little  coin." 

COMMENTARY 

Some  of  the  ''sayings"  which  in  Matthew  are  unskilfully  worked 
into  the  "sermon  on  the  mount"  are  in  Luke  tacked  on  to  the  stories 
of  the  "covetous"  petitioner  for  justice  and  the  "fool"  of  a  farmer 
who  was  rich  and  therefore  doomed  to  netherworld  woe.  The  "say- 
ing" of  lesous  that  he  came  to  cast  fire  in  the  earth  (the  verb  being 
used,  apparently,  in  the  sense  of  sowing  broadcast,  as  in  xiii.  19) 
has  no  connection  with  the  context,  and  it  certainly  should  precede 
the  consecration  of  lesous  by  loannes.  For  lesous  speaks  of  the 
fire-lustration  as  something  not  yet  begun ;  and  the  thing  he  de- 
sires, but  which  is  left  unstated  through  a  lacuna  in  the  text,  can 
only  be  the  preliminary  water-lustration.  In  the  Apocalypse  (viii. 
5,  6),  after  the  opening  of  the  seven  seals,  which  corresponds  to 
the  water-lustration,  the  Divinity  above  the  altar  casts  the  fire  of 
the  altar  into  the  earth,  after  which  follow  the  seven  trumpet-calls. 


758  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Nowhere  in  the  Synoptics  is  it  even  intimated  that  slavery  is  an 
evil  institution ;  on  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  be  indirectly  endorsed 
by  the  "inspired"  writers,  as  in  the  story  (or  hybrid  "parable")  of 
the  faithful  slave  who  is  called  "blessed."  In  deference  to  modern 
abhorrence  of  slavery,  orthodox  translators  invariably  soften  the 
word  doidos  to  "servant,"  as  the  honest  rendering  "slave"  would 
offend  the  laity. 

Even  the  spurious  portions  of  these  discourses  are  pieced  to- 
gether without  following  any  orderly  train  of  thought,  but  by  a 
comical  association  of  irrelevant  ideas.  Thus,  as  the  forecasting 
of  the  weather  is  a  matter  of  judging  natural  phenomena,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  suggest  a  judge  deciding  a  lawsuit ;  so,  from  talking  about 
weather-signs,  lesous  passes  on  to  the  subject  of  dodging  debts : 
the  debtor,  when  sued,  should  exert  himself  to  get  rid  of  the  plaintiff 
before  the  case  reaches  the  judge,  otherwise  the  unfeeling  magis- 
trate and  the  brutal  bailiff  (praktor)  w^ill  compel  payment.  This 
advice  is  unsound  legally,  and  even  immoral ;  and  as  it  fails  to 
specify  how  or  by  what  means  the  debtor  is  to  get  rid  of  the  ob- 
noxious creditor  without  paying  him,  it  has  no  practical  value. 

Chapter  xiii.   1-9 

I  Now,  there  were  some  present  at  that  very  season  who  were 
telling  him  about  the  Galil?eans.  whose  blood  Pilate  had  mingled 
with  their  sacrifices.    2  And  [  [lesous]  ]  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"Do  you  suppose  that  these  Galilaeans  w-ere  sinners  beyond  all  the 
Galilaeans,  because  they  have  suffered  these  things  ?  3  I  say  to  you, 
Not  so ;  but  if  you  do  not  reform,  you  shall  all  in  like  manner  perish. 
4  Or  those  eighteen,  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam  fell,  and 
killed  them — do  you  suppose  that  they  were  debtors  beyond  all 
the  men  w^ho  dwell  in  Jerusalem  ?  5  I  say  to  you,  Not  so ;  but  if 
you  do  not  reform,  you  shall  all  likewise  perish." 

6  And  he  spoke  this  allegory : 

"A  certain  man  had  a  fig-tree  planted ;  and  he  came  looking  for 
fruit  on  it,  and  did  not  find  [any].  7  And  he  said  to  the  vine- 
dresser : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  759 

"  'Behold,  these  three  years  I  have  been  coming  and  seeking  fruit 
on  this  fig-tree,  and  do  not  find  [any].  Cut  it  down.  Why  does  it 
even  render  the  ground  unproductive  ?' 

8  "But  he,  answering,  says  to  him : 

"  'Master,  let  it  alone  this  year  also,  until  I  shall  dig  about  it  and 
put  manure;  9  and  if  it  should  bear  fruit  in  future  [i7  will  be 
saved~\  ;  but  if  not,  you  shall  cut  it  down.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

Josephus  makes  no  mention  of  the  tower  in  Siloam,  or  of  Pilate's 
mingling  the  blood  of  the  Galilaeans  with  their  sacrifices ;  but  he  tells 
of  the  slaughter  of  certain  turbulent  Samaritans  by  Pilate.  The 
compiler  of  Luke,  however,  having  discovered  these  incidents  that 
had  escaped  the  notice  of  earlier  historians,  introduces  them  here 
very  appropriately  by  using  the  word  "debtors,"  which  neatly  con- 
nects the  story  of  the  eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower  fell  with  the 
preceding  remarks  on  the  subject  of  dodging  debts.  The  "allegory" 
of  the  barren  fig-tree  is  so  thin  that  its  inner  meaning  is  conspicu- 
ous; but  the  wobbly  construction  of  its  concluding  sentence  patheti- 
cally evinces  that  the  writer  of  it  was  yielding  to  brain-fag.  Men- 
tal weariness  may  account  for  his  referring  to  the  pool  of  Siloam 
as  if  it  w'ere  a  town. 

Ch.  XIII,  10-17 

10  And  he  was  teaching  in  one  of  the  synagogues  on  the  sab- 
bath, II  And  behold,  [[there  was]]  a  woman  who  had  a  spirit 
of  infirmity  eighteen  years;  and  she  was  bent  double,  and  was 
utterly  unable  to  lift  herself  up.  12  And  when  lesous  saw  her, 
he  called  to  her,  and  said  to  her : 

"Woman,  you  are  loosed  from  your  infirmity." 

13  And  he  laid  his  hands  on  her,  and  directly  she  stood  upright, 
and  was  glorifying  God.  14  But  the  synagogue-ruler,  indignant 
because  lesous  had  healed  [her]  on  the  sabbath,  answered  and  said: 

"There  are  six  days  in  which  men  ought  to  work :  in  them,  there- 
fore, come  and  be  healed,  and  not  on  the  sabbath  day." 

1 5  And  the  Master  answered  him.  and  said : 


76o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Hypocrites!  Does  not  each  one  of  you  on  the  sabbath  loose  his 
ox  or  his  ass  from  the  manger,  and  having  led  it  away  give  it  drink? 
1 6  And  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  the  Ad- 
versary has  bound,  behold,  eighteen  years — ought  she  not  to  be 
loosed  from  this  bond  on  the  sabbath  day?" 

17  And  on  his  saying  these  things,  all  his  opponents  were 
ashamed ;  and  all  the  crowd  were  rejoicing  at  all  the  glorious  things 
that  were  being  done  by  him. 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  may  reasonably  be  regarded  as  a  modified  repetition 
of  the  one  in  vi.  6-1 1.  The  man  with  the  withered  hand  has  become 
a  woman  doubled  up  with  rheumatism  or  some  other  disease,  which 
is  not  named  by  the  beloved  physician,  but  is  vaguely  attributed  by 
him  to  spirit-agency.  The  stories  dififer  also  in  other  particulars ; 
but  from  the  general  construction  of  the  Gospel  it  is  more  than  prob-. 
able  that  both  are  records  of  one  and  the  same  "historical"  incident. 

Ch.  XIII.  18-21 

18  He  said,  therefore: 

"To  what  is  the  kingdom  of  God  like,  and  to  what  shall  I 
liken  it?  19  It  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  a  man 
took  and  sowed  in  his  own  garden;  and  it  grew,  and  became 
a  [[great]]  tree,  and  the  birds  'of  the  sky  roosted  in  its 
branches.' " 

20  And  again  he  said : 

"To  what  shall  I  liken  the  kingdom  of  God?  21  It  is  like  leaven, 
which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  w'heaten  flour, 
till  it  was  all  leavened." 

COMMENTARY 

But  for  the  word  "therefore"  (ovv)  it  might  be  supposed  that 
these  parables  have  no  reference  to  what  precedes  them.  How- 
ever, the  sequence  is  easily  traced:  to  the  disciplined  mind  of  the 
beloved  physician  the  infirmity  of  the  doubled-up  w-oman  suggested 
a  mustard  plaster;  and  it  is  an  easy  mental  step  from  the  concept 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  761 

of  a  woman  wearing  a  mustard  plaster  to  the  parables  of  the  mus- 
tard seed  and  of  the  woman  making  dough. 

Ch.  XIII.  22-30 

22  And  he  passed  through  city  after  city,  and  village  after  vil- 
lage, teaching,  and  shaping  his  course  toward  Jerusalem.  23  And 
some  one  said  to  him : 

"Master,  are  they  few  who  are  being  saved  ?" 

And  he  said  to  him : 

24  ''Struggle  to  enter  in  through  the  narrow  door;  for  many,  I 
say  to  you,  will  endeavor  to  enter  in,  but  will  not  be  able.  25  When 
once  the  house-lord  shall  have  risen  up,  and  shall  have  shut  the  door, 
and  you  begin  to  stand  outside  and  to  knock  at  the  door,  saying, 
'Master,  open  to  us,'  and  he  shall  answer  and  say  to  you,  'I  do  not 
know  you  whence  you  are,'  26  then  you  will  begin  to  say,  'We  ate 
and  drank  in  your  presence,  and  you  taught  us  in  our  streets,'  2^] 
and  he  will  say,  speaking  to  you,  'I  tell  you,  I  do  not  know  [  [you]  ] 
whence  you  are;  "depart  from  me,  all  ye  doers  of  iniquity."'  28 
There  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  when  you  shall  see 
Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  but  yourselves  being  thrown  outside.  29  And  they  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  from  the  north  and  south,  and 
shall  recline  [at  table]  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  30  And  behold, 
there  are  last  who  shall  be  first,  and  there  are  first  who  shall  be 
last." 

COMMENTARY 

The  narrow  "gate"  of  Matthew  vii.  13  is  here  a  narrow  "door." 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob  and  all  the  prophets  had  entered  through 
that  door,  and  were  safe  in  heaven,  centuries  before  lesous  was 
born  to  be  the  Savior  of  mankind,  according  to  this  "history."  The 
compilers  of  the  Gospels  do  not  explain  why  these  ancient  worthies 
were  "saved"  while  all  other  pre-Christian  descendants  of  Adam 
were  doomed  to  Hinnom-valley.  Later  theologians  have  invented 
various  conflicting  theories  on  the  subject,  but  none  of  their  theories 
will  bear  close  analysis. 


y(i2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  xm.  31-35 

31  In  that  same  hour  came  to  him  certain  Pharisees,  saying 
to  him: 

"Depart,  and  proceed  hence ;  for  Herod  intends  to  kill  you." 

2^2  And  he  said  to  them: 

"Go  and  say  to  that  fox,  'Behold,  I  am  casting  out  ghosts 
and  performing  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  the  third 
[day]  I  am  having  myself  initiated/  33  However,  proceed  I 
must  to-day  and  to-morrow  and  the  [day]  following;  for  it  is 
not  possible  for  a  prophet  to  perish  outside  of  Jerusalem.  34 
O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  who  kills  the  seers  and  stones  those 
who  are  sent  to  her!  How  often  would  I  have  gathered  your 
children  together,  in  the  way  a  hen  [gathers]  her  own  brood 
under  her  wings — and  you  would  not!  35  Behold,  'your  house 
is  left  to  you  \ [desolately ;  and  I  say  to  you,  You  shall  see  me  not, 
until  you  say,  'Blessed  is  he  zvho  is  coming  in  the  Master's  name.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

According  to  Matthew  (xxiii.  37)  the  lament  over  Jerusalem  is 
uttered  by  lesous  while  he  is  in  that  city.  Here  in  the  periscope  it 
can  not  be  said  to  have  any  "historical"  situation,  as  the  whole  sec- 
tion is  really  outside  the  narrative. 

Chapter  xiv.  1-14 

I  And  it  befell,  when  he  went  into  the  house  of  one  of  the  rulers 
of  the  Pharisees  on  a  sabbath  to  eat  bread,  that  they  were  insidi- 
ously watching  him.  2  And  behold,  there  was  in  front  of  him  a 
dropsical  man.  3  And  lesous  answered  and  spoke  to  the  lawyers 
and  Pharisees,  saying: 

"Is  it  lawful. to  heal  on  the  sabbath,  or  not?" 

4  But  they  kept  quiet.  And  taking  hold  of  him,  he  healed  him, 
and  let  him  go.     5  And  he  [[answered  and]]  said  to  them: 

"Which  of  you  shall  have  an  ass,  [  [a  son,  a  sheep]  ]  or  an  ox  fall 
into  a  cistern,  and  will  not  immediately  draw  him  up  on  a  sabbath 
day?" 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  763 

6  And  they  were  not  able  to  answer  [[him]]  back  in  reference 
to  these  things. 

7  And  he  spoke  a  parable  to  those  who  were  invited — when  he 
observed  how  they  were  picking  out  for  themselves  the  foremost 
places — saying  to  them  : 

8  "When  you  are  invited  by  any  one  to  a  marriage- feast,  do  not 
recline  in  the  foremost  place;  lest  a  more  honorable  man  than  you 
may  have  been  invited  by  him,  9  and  he  who  invited  you  and  him 
shall  come  and  say  to  you,  'Give  this  [man]  place';  and  you  will 
begin  with  shame  to  take  the  lowest  place.  10  But  when  you  are 
invited,  go  and  fall  back  into  the  lowest  place,  that  when  he  who 
has  invited  you  comes,  he  may  say  to  you,  'Friend,  go  up  higher' ; 
then  you  shall  have  glory  before  those  who  are  reclining  [at  table] 
with  you.  II  For  every  one  who  exalts  himself  shall  be  abased; 
and  he  who  abases  himself  shall  be  exalted." 

12  And  he  said  to  him  also  who  had  invited  him : 
"When  you  make  a  breakfast  or  a  dinner,  do  not  call  your  friends, 
nor  your  brothers,  nor  your  relatives,  nor  rich  neighbors,  lest  they 
also  should  invite  you  in  return,  and  repayment  is  yours.  13  But 
when  you  make  an  entertainment,  invite  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
lame,  the  blind,  14  and  you  shall  be  blessed;  because  they  have  not 
[wherewith]  to  repay  you:  for  you  shall  be  repaid  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  just." 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  story  of  the  healing  on  the  sabbath  is  varied  by  having 
the  cure  performed  in  a  private  house  instead  of  in  a  synagogue. 
But  it  is  essentially  the  same  story :  the  ass  and  the  ox  reappear,  and 
the  Pharisees  are  similarly  abashed.  No  doubt  the  man  cured  of 
the  dropsy  was  the  same  individual  who  formerly  had  a  withered 
hand,  and  who  later  on  was  the  woman  bent  double  by  "a  spirit  of 
infirmity."  Even  when  the  "ass"  is  transformed  into  a  "son,"  as 
in  some  manuscripts,  the  story  is  still  recognizable. 

The  "parable"  spoken  to  the  unmannerly  guests  inculcates  social 
hypocrisy  and  mock-humility:  the  self-seeker  is  advised  to  take  a 


764  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

back  seat  in  order  that  he  may  receive  ''glory"  when  invited  to  take 
a  more  prominent  one.  Selfishness  is  appealed  to  in  the  precept 
that  a  man  giving  an  entertainment  shfjuld  invite  only  the  poor  and 
the  physically  defective,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  own  relatives  and 
friends,  so  that  he  may  reap  an  eternal  reward  for  his  charity. 

Cii.  XIV.  15-24 

15  And  when  one  of  those  reclining  [at  table]  with  him  heard 
these  things,  he  said  to  him : 

"Blessed  is  he  who  shall  eat  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God." 

16  But  he  said  to  him  : 

"A  certain  man  made  a  great  dinner,  and  invited  many.  17 
And  he  sent  his  slave  at  the  hour  of  the  dinner  to  say  to  those 
who  had  been  invited: 

"'Come;  for  [[all  things]]  are  now  ready.' 

18  "And  they  all  with  one  [accord]  began  to  beg  to  be  ex- 
cused.   The  first  said  to  him : 

"  T  have  bought  a  farm,  and  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  go  out 
and  see  it.     I  pray  you  have  me  excused.' 

19  "And  another  said : 

"  *I  have  bought  five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  am  going  to  prove  them. 
I  pray  you  have  me  excused.' 

20  "And  another  said : 

"  *I  have  married  a  wife,  and  for  this  reason  I  can  not  come.' 

21  "And  the  slave  came  and  told  his  master  these  things. 
Then  the  house-lord,  being  enraged,  said  to  his  slave : 

"  *Go  out  quickly  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  and 
bring  in  here  the  poor  and  maimed  and  blind  and  lame.' 

22  "And  the  slave  said : 

"  'Master,  what  you  ordered  has  been  done,  and  still  there  is 
room.' 

23  "And  the  master  said  to  the  slave : 

"  *Go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  and  compel  [them] 
to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be  filled.  24  For  I  say  to  you. 
Not  one  of  those  men  who  were  invited  shall  taste  of  my 
dinner.'  " 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  765 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  is  obviously  a  variant  of  the  allegory  in  Matthew  xxii. 
1-13.  It  differs  from  the  allegory  only  as  the  stories  of  the  man 
with  the  withered  hand,  the  doubled-up  woman  and  the  dropsical 
man  differ  from  each  other.  The  ''king"  is  here  only  "a  certain 
man/'  and  it  is  merely  a  dinner  that  he  gives,  and  not  a  wedding- 
feast  for  his  son ;  he  sends  out  but  one  slave,  the  persons  invited 
do  not  murder  the  messenger,  their  city  is  not  destroyed,  and  the 
man  without  a  wedding-garment  fails  to  put  in  his  appearance. 
The  allegory  has  been  converted  into  an  anecdote  and  so  modified 
as  to  point  the  moral  of  the  absurd  counsel  given  in  verse  13.  This 
version  thus  omits  some  of  the  essential  details  of  the  allegory  as 
given  in  Matthew;  but  in  the  characteristic  style  of  the  compiler  of 
Luke  it  expands  out  of  due  proportion  the  unimportant  matter  of  the 
excuses  offered  by  those  who  were  invited,  and  is  introduced  into 
the  narrative  by  a  transparent  device,  being  made  to  hinge  upon  the 
platitude  uttered  by  one  of  the  diners. 

Cii.  XIV.  25-35 

25  Now,  great  crowds  were  going  with  him ;  and  he  turned  and 
said  to  them : 

26  "If  any  man  comes  to  me,  and  does  not  hate  his  own 
father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brothers,  and 
sisters,  and  moreover  his  own  psychic  self  too,  he  can  not  be 
my  disciple.  27  And  whoever  does  not  lift  up  his  cross,  and 
come  after  me,  can  not  be  my  disciple.  28  For  which  of  you, 
desiring  to  build  a  castle,  does  not  first  sit  down  and  calculate 
the  expense,  whether  he  has  [means]  to  complete  it?  29  Lest 
ever  when  he  has  laid  the  foundation  for  it,  and  is  not  able  to 
finish,  all  the  beholders  should  begin  to  make  sport  of  him,  30 
saying,  'This  man  began  to  build,  but  was  not  able  to  finish.' 
31  Or  what  king,  when  going  to  engage  another  king  in  war, 
will  not  first  sit  down  and  take  counsel  whether  he  is  able  with 
ten  thousand  [soldiers]  to  meet  the  [foeman]  who  is  coming 
against  him  with  twenty  thousand?     32  But  if  not,  while  the 


766  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

other  is  yet  far  off,  he  sends  an  embassy  and  asks  [the  terms] 
of  peace.  33  Thus,  then,  no  one  of  you  who  does  not  take  leave 
of  all  that  he  possesses  can  be  my  disciple.  34  Salt  is  good; 
but  if  even  the  salt  become  tasteless,  with  what  shall  it  be  sea- 
soned? 35  It  is  fit  neither  for  the  soil  nor  for  the  manure-pile; 
they  throw  it  out.     He  who  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 

COMMENTARY 

The  pegs  upon  which  some  of  the  discourses  of  lesous  are  hung 
are  too  slight  to  sustain  the  weight  placed  on  them.  Thus  the  anec- 
dote (for  it  can  hardly  be  called  an  allegory)  of  the  certain  man's 
dinner  is  supposed  to  be  suggested  by  the  stupid  remark,  "Blessed 
is  he  who  shall  eat  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God" ;  and  here  the  dis- 
course on  the  conditions  of  discipleship  has  no  other  "historical" 
setting  than  the  bald  statement  that  "great  crowds  were  going  with 
him."  The  saying  about  salt,  however,  has  not  even  tlie  shadow  of 
a  peg  to  hang  on ;  but,  as  usual  when  the  text  becomes  meaningless, 
an  exhortation  is  addressed  to  "him  who  has  ears." 

Chapter  xv 

I  Now,  all  the  tax-collectors  and  sinners  were  drawing  near 
to  him  to  hear  him.  2  And  both  the  Pharisees  and  the  scribes 
kept  muttering,  saying: 

"This  [man]  receives  sinners  kindly,  and  eats  with  them." 

3  And  he  spoke  to  them  this  allegory,  saying: 

4  "What  man  of  you,  having  a  hundred  sheep,  and  having 
lost  one  of  them,  does  not  leave  the  ninety-nine  in  the  desert, 
and  go  after  that  lost  [sheep],  until  he  find  it?  5  And  when  he 
finds  it,  he  lays  it  on  his  shoulders,  rejoicing ;  6  and  on  coming 
to  his  house,  he  calls  together  his  friends  and  neighbors,  saying 
to  them,  'Rejoice  with  me,  for  I  have  found  my  sheep  that  was 
lost.'  7  I  say  to  you,  Thus  shall  there  be  [greater]  joy  in  the 
heaven-world  over  one  sinner  who  reforms  than  over  ninety- 
nine  virtuous  [persons]  who  have  no  need  of  reform. 

8  "Or  what  woman,  having  ten  pieces  of  silver,  if  she  should 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  y^i'] 

lose  one  piece,  does  not  light  a  lamp,  and  sweep  the  house,  and 
seek  carefully  until  she  finds  it.  9  And  having  found  it,  she 
calls  together  her  friends  and  neighbors,  saying,  'Rejoice  with 
me,  for  I  have  found  the  piece  which  I  lost.'  10  Thus,  I  say 
to  you,  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  Divinities  of  God 
over  one  sinner  who  reforms.'' 

II  And  he  said: 

"A  certain  man  had  two  sons ;  1 2  and  the  younger  of  them 
said  to  his  father: 

"  'Father,  give  me  the  portion  of  your  substance  that  falls 
to  me.' 

"And  he  divided  to  them  his  living.  13  And  not  many  days 
after,  the  younger  son  gathered  all  together  and  went  on  a 
journey  to  a  distant  country,  and  there  dissipated  his  substance, 
living  profligately.  14  And  when  he  had  spent  all,  a  mighty 
famine  befell  all  through  that  country,  and  he  began  to  be  in 
want.  1 5  And  he  went  and  attached  himself  to  one  of  the  citi- 
zens of  that  country;  and  he  sent  him  into  his  fields  to  feed 
swine.  16  And  he  used  to  long  to  have  been  fed  on  the  carob- 
pods  which  the  swine  were  eating.  But  no  one  gave  him 
[bread].    17  But  when  he  came  to  himself  he  said: 

"  'How  many  of  my  father's  wage-workers  have  more  than 
enough  bread — and  I  am  perishing  here  with  hunger!  18  I 
shall  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  shall  say  to  him.  Father,  I 
have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  you;  19  no  longer  am  I 
worthy  to  be  called  your  son;  make  me  as  one  of  your  wage- 
workers.' 

20  "And  he  arose  and  went  to  his  father.  But  while  he  was 
yet  far  away  his  father  saw  him,  and  his  heart  was  stirred,  and 
he  ran  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him  again  and  again. 
21  And  the  son  said  to  him: 

"  'Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  you ;  no 
longer  am  I  worthy  to  be  called  your  son;  [[make  me  as  one 
of  your  wage-workers]  ] .' 

22  "But  the  father  said  to  his  slaves : 

"  'Bring  out  quickly  the  first  robe,  and  put  it  on  him ;  and  put 


768  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  sandals  on  his  feet.  23  And  bring  the 
fatted  calf ;  sacrifice  it  |  as  a  thank-offering  ] ,  and  let  us  eat,  and 
feast  joyfully:  24  for  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again; 
he  was  lost,  and  is  found.' 

"And  they  began  to  feast  joyfully.  25  Now,  his  older  son 
was  in  the  field,  and  as  he  came  and  drew  near  the  house  he 
heard  music  and  dancing.  26  And  he  called  to  him  one  of  his 
slave-boys,  and  inquired  what  these  things  might  be.  27  And 
he  said  to  him: 

"  'Your  brother  is  come ;  and  your  father  has  sacrificed  the 
fatted  calf,  because  he  has  regained  him  safe  and  sound.' 

28  "But  he  was  angry,  and  was  not  willing  to  go  in ;  and  his 
father  came  out  and  tried  to  persuade  him.  29  But  he  an- 
swered and  said  to  his  father: 

"  'Behold,  I  have  been  slaving  for  you  so  many  years,  and 
I  have  never  transgressed  a  command  of  yours — and  you  have 
never  given  me  a  kid,  that  I  might  feast  joyfully  with  my 
friends!  30  But  when  this  your  son  came,  who  has  consumed 
your  living  with  strumpets,  you  sacrificed  for  him  the  fatted 
calf.' 

31   "And  he  said  to  him : 

"  'Child,  you  are  with  me  always,  and  all  things  that  are  mine 
are  yours.  32  But  it  was  proper  to  feast  joyfully  and  be  glad: 
for  this  your  brother  was  dead,  and  is  alive ;  and  was  lost,  and 
is  found.' " 

Chapter  xvi.  1-13 

I   And  he  said  also  to  the  disciples : 

"There  was  a  certain  rich  man  who  had  a  steward,  and  the  latter 
was  accused  to  him  of  dissipating  his  property.  2  And  he  called 
him,  and  said  to  him : 

"  'What  is  this  I  hear  about  you?  Render  an  account  of  your 
stewardship;  for  you  can  no  longer  be  steward.' 

3  "And  the  steward  said  within  himself: 

"  'What  shall  I  do,  since  my  master  is  taking  away  the  steward- 
ship from  me?    I  have  not  strength  to  dig;  I  am  ashamed  to  beg. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  769 

4  I  have  decided  what  I  shall  do,  that,  when  I  shall  have  been  re- 
moved from  the  stewardship,  they  may  entertain  me  in  their  houses.' 

5  "And  calling  to  him  each  one  of  his  master's  debtors,  he  said 
to  the  first : 

"  'How  much  do  you  owe  my  master?' 

6  "And  he  said  : 

"  'A  hundred  baths  of  oil.' 

"And  he  said  to  him : 

"  'Take  your  bill,  and  sit  down  quickly  and  write  fifty.' 

7  "Then  he  said  to  another : 

"  'And  how  much  do  you  owe  ?' 

"And  he  said : 

"  'A  hundred  cors  of  wheat.' 

''And  he  says  to  him : 

"  'Take  your  bill,  and  write  eighty.' 

8  "And  the  master  praised  the  steward  for  the  wrongful  deed, 
because  he  had  acted  shrewdly.  For  the  sons  of  this  aeon  are 
shrewder  in  their  own  generative-sphere  than  are  the  Sons  of 
Light.  9  And  I  say  to  you,  Make  friends  for  yourselves  by 
[serving]  the  Mamon  of  injustice,  that  when  you  die  they  may 
entertain  you  in  the  seonian  dwellings.  10  He  who  is  trust- 
worthy in  a  very  little  is  trustworthy  also  in  much;  and  he  who 
is  unjust  in  a  very  little  is  unjust  also  in  much.  11  If,  therefore, 
you  have  not  been  trustworthy  in  [serving]  the  unjust  Mamon, 
who  will  entrust  to  you  the  True?  12  And  if  you  have  not 
proved  trustworthy  in  that  which  is  another's,  who  will  give 
you  that  which  is  your  own?  13  No  house-slave  can  serve 
two  masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ; 
or  he  will  cling  to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other.  You  can  not 
serve  God  and  Mamon." 

COMMENTARY 

Four  allegories  are  here  given  consecutively.  The  first  three  hold 
the  same  meaning,  and  in  each  of  them  the  subject  is  the  recovery 
of  that  which  is  lost :  there  is  the  affecting  parable  of  the  lost  sheep; 
following  it  is  the  homely  but  clever  variant,  the  parable  of  the  lost 


770  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

coin  (drachme)  ;  and  then  comes  the  more  comprehensive  allegory 
of  the  lost  son.  These  three  allegories  justly  belong  to  religious 
literature  of  the  purest  and  noblest  kind ;  but  this  can  not  be  said 
of  the  fourth  allegory  of  the  series— if,  indeed,  the  latter  is  intended 
as  an  allegory,  since  it  only  purports  to  be  the  story  of  the  steward 
of  "a  certain  rich  man."  However,  as  it  winds  up  with  a  moral,  it 
certainly  has  the  form  of  a  fable,  and  may  therefore  be  regarded  as 
an  allegory.  It  affects  a  Jewish  tone  by  speaking  of  baths  of  oil 
and  cors  of  wheat — from  which  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  forger 
who  wrote  it  had  in  mind  the  statement  in  Josephus'  Ajitiqiiitics  that 
Solomon  annually  sent  many  cors  of  wheat  and  baths  of  oil  to  King 
Hiram.  According  to  this  singular  fable,  a  steward  who  wastes  his 
employer's  property,  and  then  swindles  him  by  falsifying  accounts, 
is  to  be  admired  and  commended  for  his  shrewdness  when  his  mo- 
tive is  that  he  may  make  friends  of  his  employer's  debtors  and 
become  a  dependent  on  their  charity.  A  "moral"  is  then  drawn 
from  this  immoral  parable  which  is  more  objectionable  even  than 
the  parable  itself,  to  the  effect  that  a  man  should  faithfully  serve 
the  God  of  Greed  and  Injustice,  thereby  demonstrating  his  shrewd- 
ness and  trustworthiness,  so  that  he  may  be  well  received  in  heaven 
and  be  entrusted  with  divine  things.  This  fable  in  praise  of  un- 
manliness  and  rascality  is  spoken  by  lesous  to  his  disciples,  and  the 
spurious  discourse  is  followed  by  a  genuine  "saying"  which  nobly 
contradicts  the  vile  doctrine  which  is  derived  from  the  fable. 

Ch.  XVI.  14-18 

14  And  the  Pharisees,  who  are  lovers  of  money,  heard  all  these 
things;  and  they  sneered  at  him,     15  And  he  said  to  them: 

"You  are  they  who  show  yourselves  honest  before  men;  but  God 
knows  your  hearts:  for  that  which  is  lofty  among  men  is  an  abomi- 
nation before  God.  16  The  law  and  the  [moral  precepts  of]  the 
prophets  [were  in  force]  until  loannes:  from  that  time  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  announced,  and  every  one  carries  it  by  storm.  17 
But  it  is  easier  for  the  sky  and  the  earth  to  pass  away  than  for  one 
accent  to  drop  out  [of  the  text]  of  the  law. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  771 

18  "Every  one  who  divorces  his  wife  and  marries  another  com- 
mits adultery;  and  he  who  marries  a  w'oman  divorced  from  her 
husband  commits  adultery. 

COMMENTARY 

It  was  natural  that  the  Pharisees,  as  honest  men,  whether  "lovers 
of  money"  or  not,  should  have  sneered  at  any  professed  teacher  of 
morals  who  thus  in  public  exhorted  his  disciples  to  become  swin- 
dlers and  knaves.  The  pseudo-Iesous  does  not  defend  or  apologize 
for  the  vicious  doctrine ;  on  the  contrary,  he  caps  it  with  the  start- 
ling statement  that  w■hate^•er  is  lofty  among  men  (as  honesty,  the 
virtue  under  discussion)  is  an  abomination  before  God.  He  then 
intimates  that  the  "law" — meaning  the  ^Mosaic  code — and  the  prin- 
ciples of  morality  inculcated  by  the  Jewish  prophets  had  ceased  to 
be  binding  upon  the  advent  of  Idannes,  but  contradicts  himself  in 
the  next  sentence,  apparently.  However,  this  contradictory  sentence, 
with  the  following  one  on  the  irrelevant  subject  of  divorce,  was 
very  probably  added  by  a  later  interpolator,  who  perceived  that  the 
nullification  of  the  law  would  not  only  wipe  out  the  commandments, 
but  would  also  strike  at  the  very  foundation  of  morality  (as  laid 
down  by  the  forgers)  by  sanctioning  the  marriage  of  divorced  men 
and  women.  To  make  such  marriages  violative  of  the  ten  command- 
ments (which  are  mysteriously  silent  on  the  subject),  they  are  pro- 
nounced to  be  adulterous.  According  to  Mattheiv  (v.  17-19) 
lesous  reaffirmed  the  law;  but  that  is  not  the  teaching  of  Luke, 
either  here  or  elsewhere. 

Ch.  XVI.  19-31 

19  "There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  and  he  was  clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen,  feasting  joyfully  and  splendidly  every  day.  20  And 
[[there  w^as]]  a  certain  poor  man,  named  Lazaros,  [[who]]  was 
laid  at  his  gateway,  afflicted  with  ulcers,  21  and  longing  to  be  fed 
with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table;  yes,  even  the 
dogs  came  and  licked  his  ulcers.  22  And  it  befell  that  the  poor  man 
died,  and  [his  immortal]  self  was  carried  away  by  the  Divinities 
into  Abraham's  bosom ;  and  the  rich  man  also  died,  and  was  buried. 


-^^2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

23  And  in  the  underworld  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment, 
and  sees  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazaros  in  his  bosom.  24  And  he 
cried  out  and  said  : 

"  'Father  Abraham,  have  compassion  on  me,  and  send  Lazaros, 
that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  refresh  my  tongue ; 
for  I  am  suffering  in  this  flame.' 

25  "But  Abraham  said  : 

"  'Child,  remember  that  you  in  your  lifetime  received  your  good 
things,  and  Lazaros  likewise  evil  things ;  but  now  he  is  being  cheered, 
and  you  are  suffering.  26  And  amongst  all  these  things  [interven- 
ing] between  us  and  you  there  is  a  chasm  fixed,  that  they  who  wish 
to  pass  from  here  to  you  may  not  be  able,  and  that  none  may  go 
across  from  there  to  us.' 

27  "And  he  said  : 

"  *I  entreat  you,  then.  Father,  that  you  would  send  him  to  my 
father's  house — 28  for  I  have  five  brothers— that  he  may  make  an 
earnest  and  solemn  affirmation  to  them,  lest  they  also  come  to  this 
place  of  torment.' 

29  "But  Abraham  says  [[to  him]]  : 

"  'They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets :  let  them  hear  them.' 

30  "But  he  said  : 

"  'No,  Father  Abraham;  but  if  one  should  go  to  them  from  the 
dead,  they  will  reform,' 

31  "And  he  said  to  him : 

"  'If  they  do  not  hear  Tvloses  and  the  prophets,  they  will  not  be 
persuaded  even  if  one  should  rise  from  the  dead.'  " 

COMMENTARY 

This  fable — for  it  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  fable,  and  a  very 
foolish  one  at  that— illustrates  the  doctrine  that  the  rich  are  to  be 
punished  in  the  other  world  for  having  prosperity  on  earth,  while 
the  poor  receive  compensation  for  their  privations  on  earth  by  being 
exalted  to  heavenly  bliss.  The  "certain  rich  man"  committed  the 
unpardonable  offence  of  enjoying  the  innocent  pleasures  of  life. 
Lazaros  was  virtuously  hungry  and  afflicted  with  ulcers.  The  rich 
man  may  have  been  one  of  the  noblest  of  men,  and  Lazaros  one  of 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  773 

the  worst,  so  far  as  this  story  is  concerned.  Abraham  speaks  gently 
to  the  rich  man,  and  tells  him  that  he  is  now  in  the  place  of  torment 
because  he  received  good  things  in  his  lifetime,  and  that  Lazaros 
is  in  heaven  because  he  received  evil  things  on  earth.  No  mention 
is  made  of  "righteousness,"  "good  works."  or  even  "faith."  The 
five  brothers  of  the  rich  man  are  doomed  to  descend  into  the  world 
of  woe  unless  they  "repent"  or  "reform" ;  but  for  a  rich  man  to 
reform  is,  according  to  Luke,  merely  a  matter  of  his  selling  all  his 
possessions  and  giving  the  proceeds  to  the  poor ;  apparently  it  would 
not  do  for  him  to  give  his  belongings  to  the  poor,  but  he  must  sell 
them  and  rejoice  the  poor  with  hard  cash.  It  might  be  argued  that 
in  proportion  as  he  gave  to  the  poor  he  would  be  depriving  them 
of  their  merit,  and  that  by  injudiciously  giving  too  large  a  sum  to 
any  one  beggar  he  would  thereby  imperil  the  latter's  eternal  bliss. 
The  conception  of  heaven  and  hell  as  two  localities  separated  by 
a  chasm  is  crude  to  the  last  degree,  even  if  the  story  is  mercifully 
conceded  to  be  allegorical ;  and  the  modest  request  of  the  rich  man 
for  the  amount  of  water  that  Lazaros  could  carry  on  his  finger-tip 
through  the  fiames  of  hell  is  a  bit  of  unconscious  humor.  But  the 
statement  that  the  mouldy  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets  are 
as  convincing  evidence  of  immortality  as  would  be  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  a  man  actually  raised  from  the  dead  is  too  stupid  to  be 
amusing,  even  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the  books  attributed  to 
Moses  there  is  no  reference  whatever  to  a  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments  in  a  future  world,  or  even  a  positive  statement  that 
there  is  a  Hfe  hereafter. 

Chapter  xvii.  1-6 

I   And  he  said  to  his  disciples : 

"It  is  impossible  that  impediments  should  not  come ;  but  woe 
to  him  through  whom  they  come !  2  It  is  better  for  him  if  a 
ponderous  millstone  is  placed  around  his  neck,  and  he  is  thrown 
into  the  sea,  than  that  he  should  place  an  impediment  in  the 
way  of  one  of  these  little  ones.  3  Take  heed  to  yourselves :  if 
your  brother  should  sin  against  you,  reprove  him ;  and  if  he 
should  repent,  forgive  him.    4  And  if  he  should  sin  against  you 


774  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

seven  times  in  the  day,  and  seven  times  [[in  the  day]]  return 
to  you  saying,  'I  repent,'  you  shall  forgive  him." 

5  And  the  apostles  said  to  the  Master : 
"Master,  add  to  us  [more]  faith." 

6  But  the  Master  said  : 

''If  you  had  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  you  might  say  to 
[[this]]  mulberry  tree,  'Be  uprooted,  and  be  planted  in  the  sea,' 
and  it  would  obey  you. 

COMMENTARY 

The  fablQ  of  the  rich  man  and  the  beggar,  elucidating  the  subject 
of  salvation  by  poverty,  followed  naturally  after  the  fable  of  the 
steward  who  was  laudably  engaged  in  saving  his  master's  soul  by 
dissipating  his  property.  Wealth  being  a  stumbling-block  on  the 
way  of  salvation,  the  "saying"  about  the  millstone  appropriately 
follows.  The  advice  on  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  by  changing  the 
subject  abruptly,  denotes  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  about 
it,  thus  bringing  the  discourse  to  an  end.  It  is  small  wonder  that 
the  disciples,  after  hearing  these  remarkable  utterances,  feel  the 
inadequacy  of  their  faith  and  ask  to  have  it  augmented.  In  response 
to  their  entreaty,  lesous  merely  utters  a  garbled  "saying"  taken 
from  the  incident  of  the  barren  fig-tree  (which  is  not  given  in 
Luke).  In  view  of  the  confessed  feebleness  of  their  faith,  the  tree 
and  not  the  mountain  is  made  obedient  to  the  command  of  faith 
as  small  as  a  mustard  seed;  and  the  fig-tree  itself  (syke)  has  here 
been  changed  to  a  sycamine  (sykaminos) ,  or  fig-mulberry. 

Ch.  XVII.  7-10 

7  "But  which  of  you  is  there  who,  having  a  slave  plowing  or 
shepherding,  will  say  to  him  when  he  comes  in  from  the  field,  'Come 
immediately  and  recline  [at  table],'  8  but  will  not  rather  say  to 
him,  'Prepare  what  I  may  dine  on,  and  put  on  an  apron  and  wait 
on  me  while  I  eat  and  drink,  and  afterward  you  shall  eat  and 
drink'?  9  Does  he  show  gratitude  to  that  slave  because  he  per- 
formed the  tasks  appointed  [[to  him]]?  [[I  fancy  not!]]  10 
Thus  you  also,  when  you  have  performed  all  the  tasks  appointed 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE 


//o 


to  you,  say,  'We  are  useless  slaves;  we  have  done  what  we  were 


obliged  to  do. 


COMMENTARY 


The  beggars,  especially  when  blind  or  deformed,  are  notable  ob- 
jects of  charity;  but  the  laboring  men,  whether  chattel-slaves  or 
wage-slaves,  are  not  entitled  to  gratitude  or  consideration :  this  is 
clearly  and  unmistakably  the  teaching  of  the  pseudo-Iesous  of  Luke. 
Now,  if  society  were  organized  on  principles  of  economic  justice, 
men  would  not  be  degraded  by  wage-slavery  and  beggary,  and  help- 
less unfortunates  would  be  properly  taken  care  of  without  debasing 
their  souls  by  making  them  the  recipients  of  charity. 

Ch.  XVII.  11-19 

II  And  it  befell,  as  he  was  going  to  Jerusalem,  that  he  was  pass- 
ing through  the  midst  of  Samaria  and  Galilee.  12  And  as  he 
entered  into  a  certain  village  there  met  him  ten  leprous  men,  who 
stood  afar  off;     13  and  they  lifted  up  their  voices,  saying: 

"lesous,  Captain,  have  compassion  on  us!" 

14  And  when  he  saw  them  he  said  to  them : 

"Go  and  show  yourselves  to  the  priests." 

And  it  befell,  as  they  went,  that  they  were  cleansed.  15  And  one 
of  them,  on  seeing  that  he  was  healed,  turned  back,  with  a  loud 
voice  glorifying  God;  16  and  he  fell  on  his  face  at  his  feet,  giving 
him  thanks;  and  he  was  a  Samaritan.  17  x\nd  lesous,  answering, 
said: 

"Were  not  the  ten  cleansed?  [[But]]  where  are  the  nine?  18 
Were  none  found  who  turned  back  to  give  glory  to  God,  except 
this  foreigner?" 

19  And  he  said  to  him : 

"Rise  up,  and  go.     Your  faith  has  saved  you." 

COMMENTARY 

As  the  verb  sdcci)i  means  "to  heal"  as  well  as  "to  save,"  the 
words  addressed  to  the  grateful  Samaritan  may  signify  either  that 
his  soul  was  saved  by  faith  or  that  his  body  was  cleansed  by  it. 


y^e  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

But  it  is  implied  that  he  alone  of  the  ten  lepers  had  faith,  for  other- 
wise the  story  would  lose  its  moral— salvation  by  faith.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view  it  must  have  been  his  soul  that  was  saved.  In  that 
case,  however,  the  nine  lepers  were  healed  without  faith ;  and  so, 
in  whichever  way  sozein  is  rendered,  the  story  lands  the  interpreter 
in  a  theological  dilemma. 

Ch.  XVII.  20-37 

20  And  having  been  asked  by  the  Pharisees  when  is  the  king- 
dom of  God  coming,  he  answered  them  and  said : 

"The  kingdom  of  God  does  not  come  through  external  per- 
ception; 21  nor  shall  they  say,  'Behold,  [it  is]  here!'  or,  '[Be- 
hold, it  is]  there!'  For,  behold,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within 
you." 

22  And  he  said  to  his  disciples: 

''The  days  will  come  when  you  will  long  to  see  one  of  the 
days  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  you  shall  not  see  it.  23  And  they 
will  say  to  you,  'Behold,  [he  is]  there!'  or,  'Behold,  [he  is] 
here!'  [[Do  not  go  forth,]]  nor  become  followers  of  [them]. 
24  For  as  the  lightning,  when  it  flashes  from  the  one  edge  of 
the  sky,  shines  to  the  other  edge  of  the  sky,  so  shall  the  Son  of 
man  be  [[in  his  day]].  25  But  first  it  is  inevitable  for  him  to 
suffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected  by  this  age.  26  And  as  it  be- 
fell in  the  days  of  Noah,  even  so  shall  it  be  also  in  the  days  of  the 
Son  of  man.  2^  They  were  eating,  drinking,  marrying,  being  given 
in  marriage,  until  the  day  when  'Noah  entered  into  the  ark,'  and  the 
flood  came,  and  destroyed  them  all.  28  Likew^ise  even  as  it  befell 
in  the  days  of  Lot:  they  were  eating,  drinking,  buying,  selling, 
planting,  building;  29  but  on  the  day  w^hen  Lot  went  out  from 
Sodom  'it  rained  fire  and  sulphur  from  .'.':<:  sky.'  and  destroyed  them 
all.  30  In  the  same  way  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when  the  Son  of 
man  is  unveiled.  31  In  that  day,  he  who  shall  be  on  the  housetop, 
and  his  domestic  goods  in  the  house,  let  him  not  go  down  to  take 
them  away;  and  let  him  who  is  in  the  field  likewise  not  'turn  back 
to  the  things  that  are  behind.'  32  (Remember  Lot's  wife!)  33 
Whoever  shall  seek  to  win  his  soul  shall  lose  it;  and  whoever 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  y-jj 

shall  lose  [his  soul]  shall  generate  it.  34  I  say  to  you,  In  that 
night  there  shall  be  two  men  on  [[one]]  bed;  the  one  shall  be 
taken,  and  the  other  shall  be  left.  35  There  shall  be  two  wo- 
men grinding  together;  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other 
shall  be  left.  [[36  There  shall  be  two  [men]  in  the  field;  the 
one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  shall  be  left.]]" 

37  And  they,  answering,  say  to  him : 

"Where,  Master?" 

And  he  said  to  them : 

"Where  the  body  is,  there  also  will  the  eagles  be  gathered 
together." 

COMMENTARY 

Xo  clearer  statement  could  be  made  than  the  one  in  the  text,  that 
the  divine  kingdom  is  purely  subjective,  and  not  the  advent  of  any 
objective  person  or  thing.  But  the  heavenly  kingdom  of  the  forgers 
is  grossly  materialistic:  the  kingdom  is  to  be  established  on  earth 
when  lesous  in  his  resurrected  physical  body  returns  from  the  skies, 
calls  the  dead  to  life,  restoring  to  them  their  decomposed  physical 
bodies  reintegrated,  and  sifts  the  good  believers  from  the  bad  un- 
believers, consigning  the  latter  to  the  "place  of  torment."  Even  the 
conception  of  the  psychic  world  shown  in  the  fable  of  Lazaros  and 
the  rich  man  is  less  absurd  than  this  notion  of  a  Messianic  kingdom, 
which  was  put  forward  by  designing  priests  to  strengthen  their  hold 
on  the  ignorant  and  the  psychically  blind. 

Chapter  xviii.  1-8 

I  And  he  spoke  an  allegory  to  them,  to  the  purport  that  they 
must  always  pray,  and  not  be  dispirited,    2  saying : 

"There  was  in  a  certain  city  a  certain  judge  who  did  not  fear 
God,  and  did  not  reverence  man.  3  And  there  was  a  widow  in 
that  city;  and  she  kept  coming  to  him  and  saying: 

"  *Do  me  justice  from  the  party  adverse  to  me.' 

4  "And  he  would  not  for  a  while ;  but  afterward  he  said  within 
himself : 

"  'Even  if  I  do  not  fear  God,  nor  reverence  man,     5  yet  because 


778  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

this  woman  gives  me  annoyance,  I  shall  do  her  justice,  lest  finally 
she  may  come  and  give  me  a  black  eye.'  " 

6  And  the  Master  said : 

"Hear  what  the  judge  of  injustice  says.  7  And  shall  not  God 
cause  the  giving  of  justice  for  his  chosen  ones,  who  keep  crying  to 
him  day  and  night,  even  though  he  is  indulgent  to  them  ?  8  I  say 
to  you.  He  will  cause  the  giving  of  justice  for  them  speedily.  How- 
ever, when  the  Son  of  man  comes,  will  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?" 

COMMENTARY 

This  anecdote,  or  "parable,"  although  intended  to  inspire  the 
prayerful  mind,  seems  to  appeal  more  directly  to  the  risible  faculty. 
It  is  one  of  a  number  of  pseudo-parables  in  Luke  which  are  written 
in  the  same  style,  show  the  same  peculiar  moral  obliquity,  and  are 
therefore  evidently  from  the  same  pen. 

Ch.  XVIII.  9-14 

9  And  he  spoke  also  this  allegory  to  some  who  were  confident  in 
themselves  that  they  were  just,  and  treated  the  rest  [of  men]  as 
of  no  account : 

10  "Two  men  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray — the  one  a  Phari- 
see, and  the  other  a  tax-collector.  1 1  The  Pharisee  stood  and 
prayed  with  regard  to  himself  thus: 

"  'God,  I  thank  thee  that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men,  rapacious, 
unjust,  adulterers,  or  even  as  this  tax-collector.  12  I  fast  twice  in 
the  week;  I  give  tithes  of  all  things  that  I  gain.' 

13  "And  the  tax-collector,  standing  afar  off,  would  not  even  lift 
up  his  eyes  to  the  sky,  but  kept  striking  his  breast,  saying : 

"  'God,  be  propitious  to  me,  who  am  a  sinner !' 

14  "I  say  to  you,  This  [man]  went  down  to  his  house  justified 
rather  than  the  other.  For  every  one  who  exalts  himself  shall  be 
abased;  but  he  who  abases  himself  shall  be  exalted." 

COMMENTARY 

With  this  fable  the  periscope  comes  to  an  end:  having  inserted 
nine  chapters  containing  new  matter,  which  is  largely  spurious,  the 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  779 

compiler  is  ready  to  pick  up  the  broken  thread  of  the  narrative  as 
found  in  the  text  of  Mark,  which  he  follows  henceforth,  though 
with  sundry  changes  and  additions. 

Ch.  XVIII.  15-17 

15  And  they  were  bringing  to  him  also  the  new-born  babes, 
that  he  might  touch  them ;  but  the  disciples,  when  they  saw  it, 
reproved  them.    16  But  lesous  called  them  to  him,  saying: 

"Permit  the  little  children  to  come  to  me,  and  do  not  forbid 
them;  for  to  such  belongs  the  kingdom  of  God.  17  Amen.  I 
say  to  you.  Whoever  shall  not,  like  a  little  child,  receive  God's 
kingdom,  he  shall  not  at  all  enter  into  it." 

COMMENTARY 

The  subject  of  little  children  is  here  resumed,  having  been  broken 
ofl*  in  the  passage  immediately  preceding  the  periscope,  that  is,  ix. 
46-50.  It  seems  that  the  compiler  (or  some  later  improver)  of  Mark, 
in  severing  a  page  to  interpolate  a  passage  aimed  against  divorce, 
divided  the  story  of  the  children,  and  made  two  stories  of  it :  and  in 
this  state  the  text  was  copied  by  the  compilers  of  Mafthezv  and 
Luke,  who  also  found  it  a  convenient  gap  in  which  to  insert  new 
matter.  All  the  discourses  on  the  subject  of  the  state  of  childhood 
should  naturally  follow  upon  the  incident  of  parents  bringing  their 
little  children  to  lesous ;  but  in  the  section  preceding  the  interpola- 
tions the  subject  is  introduced  abruptly  and  inartistically  by  the 
words,  "He  took  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them," 
and  the  fragment  of  a  discourse  following  that  incident  does  not 
aptly  or  even  truthfully  apply  to  "this  little  child,"  but  refers  prop- 
erly to  "the  little  ones  who  believe  in  me,"  whom  the  children  figur- 
atively represent.  In  this  final  fragment  of  the  sundered  story  the 
"little  children"  are  changed,  in  the  text  of  Luke,  to  "new-born 
babes,"  for  no  apparent  reason. 

Ch.  XVIII.  18-30 

18  And  a  certain  ruler  asked  him,  saying: 

"Good  Teacher,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  aeonian  life?" 


78o  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

19  And  lesous  said  to  him: 

"Why  do  yon  call  me  'good'  ?  Except  one— God — no  one  is  good. 
20  You  know  the  commandments,  'Do  not  commit  adultery,'  'Do 
not  kill,'  'Do  not  steal,'  'Do  not  testify  falsely,'  'Honor  your  father 
and  mother.'  " 

21  And  he  said: 

"From  my  youth  up  I  have  observed  all  these  things." 

22  And  when  lesous  heard  it  he  said  to  him : 

"One  thing  you  lack  yet :  sell  all  that  you  possess,  and  distribute 
[the  proceeds]  to  the  mendicants,  and  you  will  have  treasure  in 
the  sky;  and  come,  follow  me." 

23  But  when  he  heard  these  things  he  became  deeply  grieved ; 
for  he  was  very  rich.  24  And  lesous,  seeing  him  [[become  deeply 
grieved]],  said : 

"In  what  a  difficult  way  shall  the  possessors  of  riches  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God!  25  For  it  is  more  feasible  for  a  camel  to 
enter  in  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

26  And  they  who  heard  it  said : 
"Then  who  can  be  saved  ?" 

27  But  he  said  : 

"The  things  which  are  impossible  with  men  are  possible  with 
God." 

28  And  Petros  said : 

"Behold,  we  have  left  all,  and  have  followed  you." 

29  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  There  is  no  one  who  has  left  house,  or 
wife,  or  brothers,  or  parents,  or  children,  for  the  sake  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  30  who  shall  not  receive  many  times  as 
many  in  this  season,  and  in  the  aeon  that  is  coming  seonian 
life." 

COMMENTARY 

This  passage  is  condensed  from  Mark;  but  the  rich  man  is  here 
called  a  "ruler,"  and  this  complicates  matters :  for  in  following  the 
advice  of  lesous  he  would  not  only  have  to  throw  away  his  riches, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  781 

but  would  also  have  to  abandon  the  duties  connected  with  his  im- 
portant office.  It  is  not  by  shirking  the  responsibilities  of  material 
life  that  a  man  qualifies  himself  for  the  life  supernal. 

Ch.  XVIII.  31-34 

3  T  And  he  took  to  him  the  tv^^elve,  and  said  to  them : 
"Behold,  we  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  things 
which  have  been  written  through  the  prophets  shall  happen  to 
the  Son  of  man :  32  for  he  will  be  handed  over  to  the  profane, 
and  will  be  made  sport  of,  and  be  maltreated,  and  be  spit  upon ; 
33  and  when  they  have  sco'urged  him,  they  will  kill  him;  and  on 
the  third  day  he  will  rise  [from  the  dead] ." 

34  And  they  understood  nothing  of  these  things;  and  this  sub- 
ject was  concealed  from  them,  and  they  did  not  know  the  things 
said. 

COMMENTARY 

Both  Luke  and  Matthezv  follow  Mark  in  havmg  le'sous  predict 
three  times  that  he  is  to  be  crucified.  The  repetition  may  be  due  to 
a  notion  on  the  part  of  the  compiler  that  the  prediction  thereby 
received  greater  solemnity ;  for  the  ancient  Greeks  regarded  three 
as  a  peculiarly  sacred  number.  But  the  prediction  thus  made  on 
three  different  occasions  loses  rather  than  gains  in  impressiveness. 
Elsewhere,  as  in  Mark  xiv,  30,  41,  the  triplicity  is  employed  more 
effectively. 

Ch.  xviii.  35-43 

35  And  it  befell,  as  he  drew  near  to  Jericho,  that  a  certain  blind 
man  sat  beside  the  road,  begging ;  36  and  when  he  heard  the  crowd 
passing  along  he  asked  what  this  might  be.    37  And  they  told  him: 

"lesous  the  Nazoraean  is  passing  by." 

38  And  he  called  out,  saying: 

"lesous,  son  of  David,  have  compassion  on  me !" 

39  And  those  going  before  [lesous]  reproved  him,  that  he  should 
be  silent ;  but  he  shouted  much  more : 

"Son  of  David,  have  compassion  on  me!" 


782  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

40  And  lesous  stopped,  and  ordered  liini  to  be  brought  to  him ; 
and  when  he  liad  drawn  near  he  asked  him : 

41  "What  do  you  wish  that  I  should  do  to  you?" 
And  he  said : 

"Master,  that  I  may  recover  my  sight." 

42  And  lesous  said  to  him : 

"Recover  your  sight.     Your  faith  has  saved  you." 

43  And  immediately  he  recovered  his  sight,  and  went  along  with 
him,  glorifying  God.  And  all  the  people,  when  they  saw  it,  gave 
praise  to  God. 

COMMENTARY 

According  to  Mark,  the  beggar  was  "the  son  of  Timaios,"  and  to 
this  phrase  is  appended  the  curious  barbarism  "Bar-Timaios,"  the 
prefix  bar  being  Chaldaic  for  "son  of,"  and  Timaios  being  a  purely 
Greek  name.  Possibly  the  mongrel  word  Bar-Timaios  is  intended 
for  the  name  of  the  blind  beggar,  but  more  probably  it  represents  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  translate  "son  of  Timaios"  into  Hebrew. 
The  compiler  of  Luke,  w^ho  was  a  man  of  some  education,  has 
omitted  the  doubtful  name,  falling  back  on  his  favorite  expression, 
"a  certain"  man.  The  compiler  of  Matthczv,  however,  solved  the 
difficulty  by  not  only  avoiding  the  use  of  names,  but  also  by  bring- 
ing two  blind  men  into  the  story,  who  were,  it  may  be  inferred. 
Timaios  senior  and  Timaios  junior.  As  the  story  has  in  Matthew 
the  same  "historical"  position,  as  well  as  the  same  place  in  the  text, 
that  it  has  in  the  other  Synoptics,  and  is,  save  for  the  use  of  the 
plural,  copied  almost  word  for  word  from  Mark,  it  can  not  reason- 
ably be  regarded  as  referring  to  another  and  distinct  incident. 

Chapter  xix.  i-io 

I  And  he  entered  and  was  passing  through  Jericho.  2  And  be- 
hold, [there  was]  a  man  called  by  name  Zakchaios,  and  he  was  a 
chief  tax-collector,  and  was  rich.  3  And  he  was  seeking  to  see 
lesous,  who  he  is,  and  he  could  not  on  account  of  the  crowd,  because 
he  was  little  in  stature.  4  And  he  ran  forward  to  the  front,  and 
climbed  up  into  a  sycamore  tree,  that  he  might  see  him ;  for  he  was 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  783 

about  to  pass  that  [way].  5  And  when  lesous  came  to  the  place 
he  looked  up,  and  said  to  him : 

"Zakchaios,  come  down  in  haste ;  for  to-day  I  need  to  stay  at  your 
house." 

6  And  he  came  down  in  haste,  and  entertained  him  delightedly. 
7  And  when  they  saw  it  they  all  murmured,  saying : 

"He  has  gone  in  to  put  up  with  a  sinful  man." 

8  But  Zakchaios  stood,  and  said  to  the  Master: 

"Behold,  Master,  the  half  of  my  possessions  I  give  to  the  poor; 
and  if  I  have  extorted  anything  of  any  one  by  misrepresentatipn, 
I  restore  it  fourfold." 

9  And  lesous  said  to  him : 

"To-day  salvation  is  come  to  this  house,  inasmuch  as  he  also  is 
a  son  of  Abraham.  10  For  the  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  was  lost." 

COMMENTARY 

The  compiler,  nettled  by  the  unskilful  work  of  the  forger  who  in- 
serted the  story  of  Bar-Timaios  in  Mark,  has  here  endeavored  to 
show  that  he  could  write  a  better  story  offhand  and  give  its  hero 
a  name  so  Hebraic  that  it  would  be  above  suspicion.  It  certainly 
is  a  better  story,  though  it  is  not  adorned  with  a  miracle.  The 
ingenious  little  plutocrat  climbs  a  tree  to  see  lesous,  and  when 
accused  of  being  a  sinner  he  ably  vindicates  himself;  he  also  makes 
a  good  bargain,  reaching  salvation  by  giving  only  half — not  all— 
of  his  possessions  to  the  poor.  This  is  the  only  bit  of  genuine 
Jewish  "local  color"  in  the  Gospels. 

Ch.  XIX.  11-27 

1 1  And  as  they  were  hearing  these  things,  he  further  spoke  an 
allegory,  because  he  was  near  Jerusalem,  and  they  fancied  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  about  to  appear  forthwith.  12  He  said  there- 
fore: 

"A  certain  man  of  high  descent  went  to  a  distant  country  to 
receive  for  himself  a  kingdom,  and  to  return.  13  And  having 
called  ten  slaves  of  his,  he  gave  them  ten  mince,  and  said  to  them : 


784  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"  *Do  business  [with  this  money]   until  I  return.' 

14  "But  his  citizens  hated  him,  and  sent  an  embassy  after  him, 
saying : 

"  'We  are  not  willing  for  this  [man]  to  reign  over  us.' 

1 5  "And  it  befell,  when  he  came  back  again,  having  received  the 
kingdom,  that  he  directed  to  be  called  to  him  those  slaves  to  whom 
he  had  given  the  money,  that  he  might  know  what  each  had  gained 
by  doing  business.     16  And  the  first  came  to  [him],  saying: 

"  'Master,  your  viina  has  produced  ten  mince  more.' 

17  "And  he  said  to  him: 

"  'Well  done,  good  slave !  Because  you  have  proved  faithful  in 
a  very  little,  have  authority  over  ten  dties.' 

18  "And  the  second  came,  saying: 

"  'Master,  your  mijia  has  made  five  minco.' 

19  "And  to  him  also  he  said  : 

"  'Do  you  also  rule  over  five  cities.' 

20  "And  another  came,  saying: 

"  'Master,  behold,  here  is  your  mina,  which  I  kept  laid  up  in  a 
handkerchief.  21  For  I  feared  you  because  you  are  a  harsh  man: 
you  take  aw^ay  [property]  which  you  did  not  store,  and  reap  [grain] 
which  you  did  not  sow.' 

22  "He  says  to  him  : 

"  'Out  of  your  own  mouth  I  shall  judge  you,  slothful  slave.  You 
knew  that  I  am  a  harsh  man,  taking  away  [property]  which  I  did 
not  store,  and  reaping  [grain]  which  I  did  not  sow;  23  and  why, 
then,  did  you  not  deposit  my  money  in  the  bank,  that  I,  on  my  re- 
turn, might  have  exacted  it  with  usury?' 

24  "And  to  the  bystanders  he  said : 

"  'Take  the  mina  away  from  him,  and  give  it  to  him  who  has  the 
ten  mince.'  (25  And  they  said  to  him,  'Master,  he  has  ten  mince!') 
26  *[  [For]  ]  I  say  to  you,  To  every  one  who  has  shall  be  given ;  but 
from  him  who  has  not,  even  that  which  he  has  shall  be  taken  away 
from  him.  27  Moreover,  these  mine  enemies,  who  were  unwilling 
for  me  to  reign  over  them,  bring  them  here,  and  slay  them  before 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  785 

COMMENTARY 

From  the  story  of  the  clever  Zakchaios,  who  purchased  salvation 
at  a  reduction  of  fifty  per  cent,  from  the  regular  price,  the  compiler 
(here  engaged  in  enriching  the  text  with  original  contributions 
from  his  own  facile  pen)  passes  on  to  elucidate  the  subject  of  busi- 
ness and  its  profits.  In  the  "allegory"  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe  is 
likened  to  "a  certain  well-born  man"  who  has  a  habit  of  walking 
off  with  things  that  do  not  belong  to  him,  who  expects  his  under- 
lings to  exact  usury  and  do  business  only  at  enormous  profit,  and 
who  slaughters  his  subjects  when  they,  very  naturally,  hate  him 
and  are  unwilling  to  be  ruled  by  him.  One  of  the  genuine  "sayings" 
is  inserted  in  the  allegory,  but  with  a  perverted  meaning,  which  is 
more  clearly  expressed  in  the  modern  Jewish  saying  that  "money 
goes  to  money."  But  in  introducing  the  "saying"  the  author  of  the 
allegory  muddled  its  conclusion :  the  "saying,"  as  the  moral  that 
adorns  the  "allegory,"  should  have  been  placed  in  the  mouth  of 
lesous,  but  it  is  brought  in  prematurely  and  uttered  by  the  king 
whom  his  subjects  had  reason  to  hate.  In  the  authorized  version 
mina  (fxva)  is  given  as  "pound,"  though  the  Babylonian  niina  was 
a  hundred  shekels  (more  than  ten  pounds),  and  the  Attic  iniiia 
equalled  more  than  four  pounds,  and  "usury"  is  softened  to  "inter- 
est" ;  but  these  are  mere  business  details. 

Ch.  XIX.  28-48 

28  And  having  spoken  thus,  he  went  on  before,  going  up  to 
Jerusalem.  29  And  it  befell,  when  he  drew  near  to  Bethphage 
and  Bethany,  toward  the  mountain  that  is  called  Olive-grove, 
he  sends  two  of  his  disciples,    30  saying: 

"Go  into  the  village  opposite  [you],  in  which  as  you  enter 
you  will  find  a  colt  tied,  on  which  no  man  has  ever  yet  sat.  Un- 
tie it,  and  bring  it.  31  And  if  any  one  asks  you,  'Why  are  you 
untying  it?'  thus  you  shall  say,  'The  Master  has  need  of  it.'  " 

32  And  they  who  were  sent  departed,  and  found  [it]  just  as 
lesous  had  said  to  them.  2)3  ^^^  ^s  they  were  untying  the  colt, 
its  masters  said  to  them : 


786  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"Why  are  you  untying  the  colt?" 

34  And  they  said : 

"The  Master  has  need  of  it." 

35  And  they  brought  it  to  lesous;  and  they  cast  their  cloaks 
on  the  colt,  and  put  lesous  upon  it.  36  And  as  he  went,  they 
were  strewing  their  cloaks  on  the  road.  37  And  as  he  was  now 
drawing  near,  [being]  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain  of  the  olive- 
trees,  the  whole  crowd  of  his  disciples  began  to  rejoice  and 
praise  God  with  a  loud  voice  for  all  the  magic  works  they  had 
seen,     38  saying: 

"  'Blessed  is  he  zuho  iscoiniug,' 
The  King,  'in  the  Master's  Jiaine'; 

Peace  in  the  heaven-world, 

And  glory  among  the  highest !" 

39  And  some  of  the  Pliarisees  from  tlie  crowd  said  to  him : 
"Teacher,  reprove  your  disciples." 

40  And  he  answered  and  said  [[to  them]]  : 

"I  say  to  you,  if  these  [people]  should  be  silent,  the  stones  will 
cry  out." 

41  And  when  he  drew  near,  on  seeing  the  city  he  wept  over  it, 
42  saying: 

"If  you,  even  3^ou,  had  known  in  this  day  the  things  that  [make] 
for  peace — but  now  they  are  hidden  from  your  eyes !  43  For  your 
enemies  shall  cast  up  a  rampart  around  you,  and  encircle  you,  and 
confine  you  on  every  side,  44  and  shall  'level'  you  'to  the  ground,' 
and  'yonr  children'  in  you ;  and  they  shall  not  leave  in  you  one  stone 
upon  [another]  stone;  because  you  did  not  know  the  season  of  your 
visitation." 

45  And  he  entered  into  the  temple,  and  began  to  drive  out 
those  selling  [[and  buying  in  it]],   46  saying  to  them: 

"It  is  written,  'And  my  house  shall  be  a  house  of  prayer' ;  but  you 
have  made  it  'a  den  of  robbers.'  " 

47  And  he  was  teaching  daily  in  the  temple.  But  the  chief-priests 
and  the  scribes  and  the  prominent  men  of  the  people  were  seeking 
to  destroy  him :  48  and  they  could  not  devise  what  they  might  do ; 
for  the  people  were  all  hanging  on  him,  listening. 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  787 

COMMENTARY 

The  text  here  varies  but  sHghtly  from  that  of  Mark,  but  the  com- 
piler has  sought  to  embelHsh  the  account  of  the  entry  into  Jerusalem 
by  adding  to  it  the  words  of  lamentation  uttered  by  lesous  and  his 
prophecy  of  the  city's  downfall.  The  interpolated  passage  is  ob- 
scure in  meaning  and  curiously  worded :  the  word  here  translated 
"rampart"  means  either  a  pale  or  a  palisaded  camp,  and  by  gram- 
matical construction  the  expression  "level  to  the  ground"  applies  to 
the  "children"  as  well  as  to  the  "stones."  The  compiler  has  omitted 
the  nondescript  word  "hosanna,"  no  doubt  because  he  recognized 
that  it  was  spurious  Hebrew. 

Chapter  xx.  1-40 

I  And  it  befell  on  one  of  [[those]]  days,  that,  as  he  was 
teaching  the  people  in  the  temple,  and  proclaiming  the  good 
tidings,  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes,  with  the  elders,  came 
up,     2  and  spoke,  saying  to  him: 

"Tell  us  by  what  authority  you  are  doing  these  things,  or 
who  it  is  who  gave  you  this  authority." 

3  And  he  answered  and  said  to  them : 

"I  also  shall  put  to  you  a  question  as  to  [  [one]  ]  doctrine ;  and 
tell  me,  4  Was  the  lustral-rite  of  Idannes  from  the  heaven- 
world,  or  from  men?" 

5  And  they  argued  among  themselves,  saying: 

"Should  we  say,  'From  the  heaven-world,'  he  will  say, 
* [  [Then]  ]  why  did  you  not  believe  him?'  6  But  should  we  say, 
'From  men,'  all  the  people  will  stone  us;  for  they  are  persuaded 
that  Idannes  was  a  seer." 

7  And  they  answered  that  they  did  not  know  from  what 
source  [the  rite  was  derived].    8  And  lesous  said  to  them: 

"Neither  do  I  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  am  doing  these 
things." 

9  And  he  began  to  speak  to  the  people  this  allegory: 

"A  man  planted  a  vineyard,  and  leased  it  to  husbandmen,  and 
went  travelling  abroad  for  a  long  time.     10  And  at  the  season 


788  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

he  sent  to  the  husbandmen  a  slave,  that  they  might  give  him 
of  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard ;  but  the  husbandmen  beat  him,  and 
sent  him  away  empty.  1 1  And  he  sent  yet  another  slave ;  and 
him  also  they  beat,  and  dishonored,  and  sent  him  away  empty. 
12  And  he  sent  yet  a  third;  and  him  also  they  wounded,  and 
threw  him  out.    13  And  the  master  of  the  vineyard  said : 

"  'What  shall  I  do?  I  will  send  my  beloved  son;  probably 
they  will  revere  him  [[when  they  see  him]].' 

14  "But  the  husbandmen,  when  they  saw  him,  argued  among 
themselves,  saying : 

"  'This  is  the  heir ;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  that  the  inheritance 
may  become  ours.' 

1 5  "And  they  threw  him  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  killed  him. 
What,  therefore,  will  the  master  of  the  vineyard  do  to  them? 
16  He  will  come  and  destroy  these  husbandmen,  and  will  give 
the  vineyard  to  others." 

And  when  they  heard  it  they  said : 

"Surely  not !" 

17  But  he,  looking  at  them,  said: 

"What,  then,  is  this  which  is  written : 

'The  stone  zvhicJi  the  builders  rejected, 

The  same  Jias  become  the  Jiead  of  the  corner''? 

18  Every  one  who  falls  on  that  stone  shall  be  crushed  together; 
but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  winnow  him." 

19  And  the  scribes  and  the  chief-priests  sought  to  lay  their 
hands  on  him  in  that  very  hour ;  and  they  feared  the  people :  for 
they  perceived  that  he  spoke  this  allegory  against  them. 

20  And  they  watched  him,  and  sent  suborned  agents,  who  feigned 
themselves  to  be  pious,  that  they  might  seize  on  his  doctrine,  so  as 
to  hand  him  over  to  the  magistracy  and  the  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernor.   2 1   And  they  put  to  him  a  question,  saying : 

"Teacher,  we  know  that  you  say  and  teach  rightly,  and  do  not 
trust  to  external  appearance,  but  in  truth  teach  the  path  of  God. 
22  Is  it  lawful  for  us  to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  or  not?" 

23  But  he  perceived  their  craftiness,  and  said  to  them : 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  789 

"[[Why  do  you  put  me  to  a  test?]]     24  Show  me  a  denarius. 
Whose  image  and  inscription  has  it?" 
And  they  [[answered  and]]  said: 
"Cesar's."' 

25  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Render  therefore  to  Caesar  the  things  due  to  Caesar,  and  to  God 
the  things  due  to  God." 

26  And  they  were  not  able  to  seize  on  his  saying  before  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  they  wondered  at  his  answer,  and  were  silent. 

2/  And  to  him  came  some  of  the  Sadducees  (who  say  there  is 
no  resurrection)  ;    28  and  they  put  to  him  a  question,  saying: 

"Teacher,  ]\Ioses  wrote  to  us.  'If  any  one's  brother  should  die.' 
having  a  wife,  'and  he  should  [[die]]  childless/  that  liis  brother 
should  take  the  zvife,  and  raise  up  seed  for  his  brother/  29  There 
were.  then,  seven  brothers ;  and  the  first  took  a  wife  and  died  child- 
less ;  30  and  the  second  [  [took  the  wife,  and  he  died  childless]  ]  : 
31  and  the  third  took  her:  and  likewise  the  seven  also  left  no  chil- 
dren, and  died.  32  Afterward  the  woman  also  died.  33  In  the 
resurrection,  then,  of  which  one  of  them  does  she  become  the  wife? 
For  the  seven  had  her  to  wife." 

34  And  lesous  [[answered  and]]  said  to  them: 

"The  sons  of  this  aeon  marry,  and  [its  daughters]  are  given 
in  marriage;  35  but  they  who  are  deemed  worthy  to  attain  to 
that  aeon,  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage;  36  for  neither  can  they  die  any 
more;  for  they  are  the  same  as  Divinities,  and  are  Sons  of  God. 
being  Sons  from  the  resurrection.  37  But  that  the  dead  are  raised, 
even  Moses  revealed,  in  [the  allegory  about]  the  Thorn-bush,  when 
he  called  'the  Master  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob/  38  Now,  he  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but 
of  the  living;  for  all  live  in  him." 

39  And  some  of  the  scribes,  answering,  said : 
"Teacher,  you  have  spoken  well." 

40  For  they  had  not  the  audacity  any  more  to  ask  him  any  ques- 
tion. 


790  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

All  this  portion  of  the  "history"  follows  Mark,  incident  for  inci- 
dent, and  almost  word  for  word.  But  the  story  of  the  barren  fig- 
tree,  which  precedes  it  in  Mark,  has  been  omitted  by  the  compiler 
of  Luke,  probably  because  he  noticed  that  it  was  reminiscent  of  the 
fig-tree  growing  beside  the  road  to  Eleusis.  The  colloquy  between 
lesous  and  the  scribe  (Mark  xii.  28-34)  has  also  been  rejected,  the 
compiler  evidently  regarding  it  as  pointless,  or  else  disapproving 
of  the  point  if  he  saw  it. 

Ch.  XX.  41-47 
41   And  he  said  to  them  : 

"How  say  they  that  the  Anointed  is  David's  son  ?  42  For  David 
himself  says  in  the  Book  of  Psalms: 

'The  Master  said  to  my  Master, 
"Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand, 
43  Till  I  place  thine  enemies  as  a  footstool  for  thy  feet."  ' 

44  David,  then,  calls  him  'Master' ;  and  how  is  he  his  son?" 

45  And  as  all  the  people  w-ere  listening,  he  said  to  his  disciples : 

46  "Beware  of  the  scribes,  who  are  fond  of  w-alking  about  in 
flowdng  robes,  and  love  salutations  in  the  market-places,  and  front 
seats  at  the  synagogues,  and  prominent  places  at  the  dinners ;  47 
who  devour  wadows'  houses  even  while  in  pretence  they  pray  at 
great  length.    These  shall  receive  a  more  severe  sentence." 

Chapter  xxi 

I  And  he  looked  up,  and  saw  the  rich  throwing  their  gifts  into 
the  treasury.  2  And  he  saw  a  certain  needy  widow  throwing  in 
there  two  very  small  copper  coins.    3  And  he  said  : 

"Truly  I  say  to  you.  This  widow,  wretchedly  poor,  has  thrown 
in  more  than  all  [the  others]  ;  4  for  [[all]]  these  threw-  out  of 
their  superabundance  into  the  gifts  [[of  God]]  ;  but  she,  out  of  her 
want,  has  thrown  in  all  the  living  which  she  had." 

5  And  as  certain  ones  were  speaking  about  the  temple,  that 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  791 

it  was  ornamented  with  beautiful  stones  and  votive  olierings, 
he  said : 

6  "As  for  these  things  which  you  are  beholding,  the  days 
will  come  in  which  there  shall  not  be  left  a  stone  upon  [an- 
other] stone,  which  shall  not  be  thrown  down." 

7  And  they  asked  him,  saying : 

"Teacher,  when,  therefore,  shall  these  things  be,  and  what 
shall  be  the  sign  when  these  things  are  about  to  befall?" 

8  And  he  said : 

"Beware  that  you  are  not  misled :  for  many  will  come  in  my 
name,  saying,  'I  am  [the  Anointed],'  and,  'The  season  has 
drawn  near' ;  do  not  go  after  them.  9  And  when  you  shall  be 
hearing  of  wars  and  tumults,  do  not  be  dismayed;  for  these 
things  must  inevitably  happen  first;  but  the  completion  is  not 
immediately." 

10  Then  he  said  to  them: 

"  'Nation  shall  rise  agaijisf  nation,  and  kingdom  agaifist  king- 
dom';  1 1  and  there  shall  be  great  earthquakes,  and,  according  to 
the  places,  famines  and  pestilences ;  and  there  shall  be  dread  portents 
and  great  signs  from  the  sky.  12  But  before  all  these  things,  they 
^vill  put  their  hands  on  you,  and  will  persecute  you,  handing  you 
over  to  the  synagogues  and  prisons,  as  prisoners  arraigned  before 
kings  and  governors,  on  account  of  my  name.  13  But  it  shall 
result  to  you  for  a  testimony.  14  Settle  it,  therefore,  in  your  hearts, 
not  to  premeditate  [what]  to  say  in  your  defence:  15  for  I  shall 
give  you  a  mouth,  and  cleverness,  which  all  your  opponents  will  not 
be  able  to  withstand  or  to  contradict.  16  But  you  shall  be  handed 
over  even  by  parents,  and  brothers,  and  relatives,  and  friends ;  and 
they  shall  put  [some]  of  you  to  death.  17  And  because  of  my 
name  you  will  be  hated  by  all.  18  And  not  a  hair  of  your  head 
shall  perish.  19  You  shall  gain  your  souls  by  your  patient  endur- 
ance. 20  But  when  you  see  Jerusalem  being  encircled  with 
armies,  then  know  that  her  desolation  has  drawn  near.  21 
Then  let  those  who  are  in  Judaea  flee  to  the  mountains,  and  let  those 
in  her  midst  go  out  and  aw-ay  from  [her]  ;  and  let  not  those  who  are 
in  the  rural  districts  enter  into  her.     22  For  these  are  'days  of  re- 


792  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

venging,'  that  all  the  things  which  are  written  may  be  fulfilled.  23 
[[But]]  woe  to  pregnant  women  and  women  with  babe  at  breast  in 
those  days !  For  there  shall  be  great  calamity  on  the  earth,  and 
wrath  to  this  people.  24  And  they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  shall  be  led  captive  into  all  the  heathens;  and  'Jerusa- 
lem' shall  be  'trampled  on  by  the  heathens'  until  the  seasons  of  the 
heathens  are  fulfilled.  25  And  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun  and 
moon  and  stars ;  and  on  the  earth  [there  shall  be]  anguish  of  hea- 
thens in  perplexity  at  the  roar  and  surge  of  the  sea,  26  men  swoon- 
ing from  terror  and  anticipation  of  the  things  which  are  coming  on 
fclie  habitable  earth :  for  'the  poivers  of  the  skies  shall  he  shaken.' 
27  And  then  they  shall  see  'the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud,' 
with  power  and  great  glory.  28  But  when  these  things  begin  to 
happen,  look  up,  and  lift  up  your  heads;  because  your  ransoming 
is  drawing  near." 

29  And  he  spoke  to  them  an  allegory : 

"Behold  the  fig-tree,  and  all  the  trees :  30  when  they  are 
already  sprouting,  on  seeing  it  you  know  of  your  own  selves 
that  the  summer  is  now  drawing  near.  3 1  So  you,  also,  when 
you  see  these  things  happening,  know  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  near.  32  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  This  generative-cycle  shall  not 
at  all  pass  away  until  all  these  things  shall  have  happened.  33  The 
sky  and  the  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  doctrine  shall  not  pass 
away.  34  But  take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest  ever  your  hearts  be 
oppressed  w^th  a  debauch,  and  strong  drink,  and  the  troubles  of  this 
life,  and  unforeseen  that  day  come  upon  you  as  a  snare:  35  for 
it  shall  come  upon  all  'those  dwelling  on'  the  face  of  all  'the  earth.' 
36  Watch,  therefore,  at  every  season,  and  beseech  [God]  at  every 
season  that  you  may  succeed  in  escaping  all  these  things  which  are 
about  to  happen,  and  in  standing  before  the  Son  of  man." 

37  And  every  day  he  was  teaching  in  the  temple;  and  every  night 
he  went  forth,  and  stayed  out  at  the  mountain  that  is  called  Olive- 
grove.  38  And  all  the  people  came  with  the  dawn  to  him  in  the 
temple,  to  hear  him.  [  [xA.nd  they  went  each  to  his  own  house ;  but 
lesous  went  to  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees.  Now,  at  daybreak 
he  came  again  to  the  temple,  [  [and  all  the  people  came  to  him,  and 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  793 

he  sat  down  and  taught  them]].  And  the  scribes  and  the  Pharisees 
bring  [[to  him]]  a  woman  caught  in  adultery,  and  making  her 
stand  before  all,  they  say  to  him : 

"Teacher,  this  Avoman  has  been  caught  committing  adultery,  in 
the  very  act.  Now,  in  the  law  Moses  commanded  [[us]]  to  stone 
such,    \\niat,  then,  do  you  say  [  [about  her]  ]  ?" 

[[Now,  they  said  this  to  test  him,  so  that  they  might  be  able  to 
bring  a  charge  against  him.]]  But  lesous  stooped  down  and  with 
his  finger  wrote  on  the  ground.  But  when  they  kept  asking 
[[him]],  he  lifted  up  [his  head],  and  said  [[to  them]]  : 

"He  among  you  who  is  unerring,  let  him  jfirst  hurl  the  stone  at 
her." 

And  again  he  stooped  down  and  [[with  his  finger]]  wrote  on  the 
ground.  And  they,  when  they  heard  his  answer,  [[were  confuted 
by  their  conscience,  and  they]  ]  went  out  one  by  one,  beginning  from 
the  older  ones;  [[all  departed,  even  to  the  meanest  ones]];  and 
[[lesous]]  was  left  alone,  and  the  woman  [[standing]]  in  the 
midst.  And  lesous  lifted  up  [his  head],  [[and  seeing  no  one  but 
the  woman]],  said  to  her: 

"Woman,  where  are  they,  [  [your  accusers]  ]  ?  Did  no  one  pass 
sentence  [of  death]  upon  you?" 

And  she  said : 

"No  one.  Master." 

And  lesous  said  to  her : 

"Neither  do  I  pass  sentence  upon  you.  Go  your  way,  and  from 
this  time  onward  sin  no  more."]] 

Chapter  xxii.  1-6 

I  Now,  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  was  drawing  near  (which 
is  called  "passover").  2  And  the  chief-priests  and  the  scribes  were 
seeking  how  they  might  put  him  to  death ;  for  they  were  afraid  of 
the  people.  3  And  the  Adversary  entered  into  loudas,  who  is  called 
Iskariotes,  being  of  the  number  of  the  twelve.  4  And  he  went 
away,  and  talked  with  the  chief-priests  and  the  military  command- 
ers, how  he  might  hand  him  over  to  them.  5  And  they  rejoiced, 
and  agreed  to  give  him  money.     6  And  he  promised;  and  he  kept 


794  Tlir:  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

seeking  an  opportunity  to  hand  him  over  to  them  away  from  the 
crowd. 

COMMENTARY 

The  story  of  the  woman  taken  in  aduhery  is  not  found  in  the 
oldest  manuscripts  of  the  Neiv  Testament,  and  is  likewise  lacking 
in  most  of  the  later  ones ;  with  many  textual  variations,  it  is  given 
in  some  manuscripts  in  the  place  accorded  it  in  the  received  text, 
John  vii.  53-viii.  11,  where  it  fits  the  context.  In  ten  manuscripts 
it  is  placed  at  the  end  of  John,  disconnected  from  the  narrative,  and 
in  four  it  is  given  in  Luke  xxi,  as  above.  But  the  story  w'as  cer- 
tainly not  written  by  the  compiler  of  Luke:  it  has  none  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  his  literary  style,  and  its  ethical  tone  is  too  high  for  his 
perverted  moral  sense.  The  answer  made  by  lesous  to  the  woman's 
accusers  is  unintentionally  humorous;  for  6  duafxdpTiqTo^  may  be 
understood  either  as  "he  who  is  guiltless"  or  in  the  literal  sense  as 
"he  whose  aim  is  unerring." 

Here,  as  usual,  the  compiler  has  merely  reproduced  the  text  of 
Mark,  varying  it  slightly  to  suit  his  own  notions.  The  long  dis- 
course on  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  second  coming  of 
lesous  was  delivered  on  the  mountain  of  the  olive-trees,  according 
to  the  other  Synoptics,  and  with  only  the  disciples  as  listeners;  but 
the  compiler  of  Luke,  not  approving  of  so  small  an  audience,  leaves 
it  to  be  inferred  that  the  discourse  was  given  in  public  at  the  temple. 
He  is  not  to  be  commended  for  making  this  change,  though  he 
shows  far  better  judgment  in  rejecting  the  implausible  and  repul- 
sive story  of  the  woman  w^ho  anointed  the  head  of  lesous  to  pre- 
pare him  for  burial,  the  truer  version  of  the  story  being  in  vii.  36- 
50.  The  compiler  also  recognized  that  the  "betrayal"  of  lesous  is 
a  weak  spot  in  the  history:  for  he  tried  to  strengthen  it  by  the 
statement  that  loudas  was  looking  for  an  opportunity  to  betray  his 
Master  when  the  crowd  was  not  present  to  interfere.  His  explana- 
tion, however,  is  awkwardly  worded ;  and  it  fails  to  bridge  the 
difficulty.  The  priests  needed  no  assistance  from  loudas,  for  they 
could  easily  have  followed  lesous  to  the  mountain  of  the  olive- 
trees;  and  when  they  did  arrest  him  they  came  accompanied  by  "a 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  795 

great  multitude"  of  armed  men.  Again,  in  making  the  military 
officers  (strategoi)  fellow-conspirators  with  the  priests  the  com- 
piler has  not  added  to  the  speciousness  of  the  "history" ;  for  there 
is  nothing  elsewhere  in  the  narrative  to  indicate  that  the  military 
authorities  took  any  interest  in  the  matter. 

Ch.    XXII.   /-2T, 

7  And  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  came,  in  which  the 
[young  ram  of  the]  passover  must  be  sacrificed.  8  And  he  sent 
Petros  and  loannes,  saying: 

"Go  and  make  ready  the  passover  for  us,  that  we  may  eat." 

9  But  they  said  to  him : 

"Where  do  you  wish  that  we  should  make  ready?" 

I  o  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Behold,  when  you  have  entered  into  the  city,  a  man  bearing 
a  pitcher  of  water  will  meet  you ;  follow  him  into  the  house  into 
which  he  goes.  1 1  And  you  shall  say  to  the  lord  of  the  house, 
*The  Teacher  says,  "Where  is  the  dining-room,  where  I  may 
eat  the  passover  with  my  disciples?"'  12  And  he  will  show 
you  a  large  upper  room  spread  [with  tables  and  couches]. 
There  make  ready." 

13  And  they  went,  and  found  [the  water-bearer],  just  as  he 
had  said  to  them;  and  they  made  ready  the  passover. 

14  And  when  the  hour  arrived,  he  reclined  [at  table],  and 
the   [[twelve]]   apostles  with  him.     15  And  he  said  to  them: 

"With  long-ing  I  have  longed  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  be- 
fore I  suffer.  16  For  I  say  to  you,  I  shall  not  eat  it  [  [any  more]  ] 
until  [tJiat  which  it  prefigures^  is  fulfilled  in  the  kingdom  of  God." 

17  And  he  received  a  wine-cup,  and  when  he  had  given 
thanks  he  said: 

"Take  this,  and  divide  it  among  yourselves:  18  for  I  say  to 
you,  I  shall  not,  from  now  on,  drink  of  the  produce  of  the  vine 
until  the  kingdom  of  God  has  come." 

19  And  he  took  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  when  he  had  given 
thanks  he  broke  it  in  pieces,  and  gave  [the  portions]  to  them, 
saying : 


796  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

"This  is  my  body  [[which  is  offered  up  [as  a  sacrifice]  for 
you ;  do  this  in  commemoration  of  me."  20  And  he  took  the 
cup  in  Hke  manner,  after  having  dined,  saying:  "This  cup  is  the 
new  covenant,  [ratified]  in  my  blood,  the  [blood]  which  is 
poured  out  for  you"]].  21  Moreover,  behold,  the  hand  of  him 
who  is  handing  me  over  is  with  me  on  the  table.  22  For  the 
Son  of  man  indeed  goes  [to  his  death],  even  as  it  has  been  des- 
tined ;  but  woe  to  that  man  through  whom  he  is  handed  over !" 

23  And  they  began  to  discuss  among  themselves  [this  subject], 
namely,  who  might  it  be  of  them  who  was  about  to  do  this  thing. 

COMMENTARY 

Here  two  cups,  apparently,  are  used  in  the  ceremony,  and  the  dis- 
cussion concerning  the  betrayal  comes  after  the  disciples  had  eaten, 
and  not,  as  in  the  other  Synoptics,  while  they  were  dining.  But  the 
second  cup  is  mentioned  only  in  a  forgery  which  has  been  unskil- 
fully wedged  into  the  text,  and  which  breaks  the  continuity  of  the 
narrative ;  probably  the  same  cup  was  intended.  The  interpolation 
gives  a  theological  interpretation,  exoteric  and  false,  of  the  meaning 
of  the  sacred  ceremony. 

Ch.  XXII.  24-30 

24  And  there  arose  also  a  contention  among  them,  namely, 
which  of  them  is  reputed  to  be  greater.  25  And  he  said  to 
them: 

"The  kings  of  the  profane  are  their  masters,  and  those  ex- 
ercising authority  over  them  are  called  'Benefactors.'  26  But 
you  [shall]  not  [be]  so;  but  he  who  is  the  greater  among  you, 
let  him  become  as  the  younger,  and  he  who  commands,  as  the 
servant.  27  For  which  is  greater,  he  who  reclines  [at  table], 
or  the  servant?  Is  not  he  who  reclines?  But  I  am  in  the  midst 
of  you  as  the  servant.  28  But  you  are  they  w4io  have  remained 
constant  with  me  in  my  trials;  29  and  I  assign  to  [each  of] 
you,  as  my  Father  has  assigned  to  me,  a  kingdom,  30  that  you 
may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom ;  and  you  shall 
sit  on  [twelve]  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  797 

COMMENTARY 

The  word  "greater"  {mcizon)  is  here  opposed  to  "younger" 
(ncdteros)  ;  it  is  also  thus  used  elsewhere  in  the  sense  of  "older" 
or  "more  mature."  The  disciples,  as  the  Regents  of  the  twelve 
zodiacal  signs,  are  not  all  of  the  same  dignity.  Thus  loudas  out- 
ranks the  others ;  and  though  the  forgers  have  made  him  out  to  be 
a  "traitor,"  they  have  neglected  to  deprive  him  of  his  "kingdom"; 
for  even  after  announcing  the  coming  "betrayal,"  lesous  declares 
that  the  disciples  will  rule  the  tweh-e  tribes,  and  certainly  he  has  no 
intention  of  dethroning  loudas,  his  alter  ego  who  dips  in  the  same 
bowl  with  him.  In  Matthew  xix.  28  the  promise  of  lesous  is  that 
the  disciples  "shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones" ;  here  in  Luke  the  word 
"twelve,"  preceding  "thrones,"  has  been  expunged  from  the  text, 
but  without  aftecting  the  sense  of  the  passage,  since  the  twelve 
tribes  could  not  very  well  be  reduced  to  eleven. 

Ch.  XXII.  31-34 

31    [  [And  the  Master  said]  ]  : 

"Simon,  Simon,  behold,  the  Adversary  demanded  to  have  you, 
that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat;  32  but  I  besought  [God]  con- 
cerning you,  that  your  faith  may  not  fail ;  and  do  you,  when  you 
have  repented,  confirm  your  brothers." 

2,T,  And  he  said  to  him: 

"Master,  I  am  ready  to  go  with  you  both  to  prison  and  to 
death." 

34  And  he  said: 

"I  say  to  you,  Petros,  The  cock  shall  not  crow  to-day  until 
thrice  you  shall  utterly  deny  knowing  me." 

COMMENTARY 

Simon's  denial  of  his  Master  merely  indicates  his  nature  as  one  of 
the  noetic  powers.  Although  only  loudas  and  Simon  are  made 
prominent  in  this  discussion  concerning  the  relative  rank  and  mer- 
its of  the  disciples,  the  allegory  might  very  well  have  contained  a 
similar  story  about  each  of  the  twelve  disciples.     As  Simon  and 


798  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Andreas  are  paired,  what  is  said  about  Simon  applies  to  Andreas 
as  well.  The  request  of  the  other  pair,  loannes  and  lakobos,  to  be 
seated  on  the  thrones  at  the  right  and  left  of  lesous,  should  be 
included  in  the  conversation  at  this  "last  supper" ;  hence  the  disciples 
who  personify  the  prdnas,  or  noetic  powers,  are  brought  into  the 
discussion.  The  seven  disciples  who  personify  the  tattvas,  and  are 
therefore  necessarily  feminine,  have  been  eliminated  from  the  nar- 
rative except  when  mentioned  collectively  with  "the  twelve,"  and  in 
the  list  of  the  twelve,  where  they  are  given  masculine  names,  four  of 
which,  Andreas,  Simon,  lakobos  and  loudas,  are  merely  duplicates. 

Ch.  XXII.  35-38 

35  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"When  I  sent  you  forth  without  purse,  and  provision-bag,  and 
sandals,  did  you  lack  anything?" 
And  they  said : 
"Nothing." 

36  And  he  said  to  them : 

"Now,  however,  he  who  has  a  purse,  let  him  take  it,  likewise  also 
a  provision-bag;  and  he  who  has  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  cloak 
and  buy  one.  37  For  I  say  to  you,  This  [prophecy]  which  has  been 
written  must  come  to  an  end  in  me:  'He  was  cniiincratcd  with  the 
lazi'less:     For  also  that  which  [is  foretold]  about  me  has  an  end." 

38  And  they  said  : 

"Master,  behold,  here  are  two  swords." 

And  he  said : 


"It  is  enough. 


COMMENTARY 


There  is  no  "mystical  sense"  hidden  in  this  passage,  nor  is  there 
any  other  kind  of  sense  to  be  discovered  in  it.  The  last  words  of 
lesous  on  the  subject,  "It  is  enough,"  have  idiomatically  the  force 
of  the  expression,  "  'Nough  said."  The  thing  is  so  badly  written 
that  onlv  a  very  ignorant  forger  could  have  perpetrated  it.  How- 
ever flagitious  were  the  literary  sins  of  the  original  compiler  of 
Luke,  it  is  probable  that  he  was  innocent  of  this  one. 


THE  GOOD  TIDIXGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  799 

Ch.  XXII.  39-71 

39  And  going  forth,  he  went,  according  to  his  custom,  to  the 
mountain  of  the  olive-trees;  and  the  disciples  also  went  along 
with  him.    40  And  having  arrived  at  the  place,  he  said  to  them : 

"Pray  that  you  do  not  enter  into  temptation." 

41  And  he  was  separated  from  them  about  a  stone's  throw; 
and  he  fell  on  his  knees,  and  prayed,    42  saying: 

"Father,  if  thou  art  willing,  remove  this  cup  from  me;  however, 
not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  accomplished." 

[[43  And  there  appeared  to  him  a  Divinity  from  the  sky, 
strengthening  him.  44  And  being  in  agony,  he  prayed  more  fer- 
vently, and  his  sweat  became  just  like  clots  of  blood  falling  down 
to  the  earth.]]  45  And  having  risen  up  from  prayer,  he  came 
to  the  disciples,  and  found  them  sleeping  from  grief,  46  and 
he  said  to  them : 

"Why  do  you  slumber?  Rise  up,  and  pray,  that  you  may 
not  enter  into  temptation." 

47  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a  crowd,  and  he  who 
was  called  loudas,  one  of  the  twelve,  was  going  before  them; 
and  he  drew  near  to  lesous  to  kiss  him.  48  But  lesous  said 
to  him : 

"loudas,  do  you  hand  over  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?" 

49  And  [the  disciples]  who  were  around  him,  when  they  saw 
what  was  about  to  happen,  said  [  [to  him]]  : 

"Master,  shall  we  strike  with  the  sword?" 

50  And  a  certain  one  of  them  struck  the  high-priest's  slave,  and 
took  off  his  right  ear.     5 1    But  lesous  answered  and  said  : 

"Let  tliem  alone,  even  to  this." 

And  he  touched  his  ear,  and  healed  him.  52  And  lesous  said 
to  the  chief-priests,  and  military  commanders  of  the  temple, 
and  elders,  who  were  come  against  him : 

"Have  you  come  out,  as  against  a  bandit,  with  swords  and 
clubs?  53  When  I  was  daily  with  you  in  the  temple,  you  did 
not  stretch  out  your  hands  against  me;  but  this  is  your  hour, 
and  the  power  of  darkness." 


8oo  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

54  And  they  apprehended  him,  and  led  [him  away],  and  led 
him  to  the  high-priest's  house.  And  Petros  kept  following  at  a 
distance.  55  And  when  they  had  kindled  a  fire  in  the  midst  of 
the  court,  and  had  sat  down  together,  Petros  sat  down  in  the 
midst  of  them.  56  And  a  certain  slave-girl  saw  him  sitting  at 
the  fire,  and  looking  intently  on  him,  said : 

"This  [man]  was  with  him." 

57  But  he  denied,  saying: 
"Woman,  I  do  not  know  him," 

58  And  after  a  little,  another  saw  him,  and  said: 
"You  also  are  [one]  of  them." 

But  Petros  said: 
"Man,  I  am  not." 

59  And  when  about  one  hour  had  elapsed,  a  certain  other 
[man]    strongly  affirmed: 

"Really  this  [man]  was  with  him;  for  he  is  a  Galilaean." 

60  But  Petros  said: 

"Man,  I  do  not  know  what  you  are  saying." 

And  immediately,  while  he  was  yet  speaking,  the  cock  crowed. 
61  And  the  Master  turned,  and  looked  at  Petros.  And  Petros 
remembered  the  saying  of  the  Master,  how  he  said  to  him, 
"Before  the  cock  crows  this  day  you  shall  deny  me  thrice."  62 
And  he  went  outside,  and  wept  bitterly. 

63  And  the  men  who  were  holding  [[lesous]]  made  sport 
of  him,  and  beat  him:  64  and  having  blindfolded  him,  they 
kept  [  [slapping  his  face  and]  ]  asking  him,  saying,  "Divine,  who 
is  he  who  struck  you?"  65  And  many  other  things  they  abu- 
sively said  to  him. 

66  And  when  day  dawned,  the  body  of  the  elders  of  the  peo- 
ple was  gathered  together,  both  chief-priests  and  scribes,  and 
they  led  him  away  to  their  council,  saying: 

67  "If  you  are  the  Anointed,  tell  us." 
But  he  said  to  them  : 

"If  I  should  tell  you,  you  would  not  at  all  believe  [me]  ;  68  and 
if  I  [[also]]  should  ask  [you],  you  would  not  at  all  answer  me, 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  8oi 

[[nor  let  me  go]].     69  But  henceforth  'thi?  Son  of  man    shall  be 
'sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Pozver  of  God.'  " 

70  And  they  all  said : 

"Are  you,  then,  the  Son  of  God?" 
And  he  said  to  them: 
"You  say  that  I  am." 

71  And  they  said: 

"What  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses?  For  we  our- 
selves have  heard  [the  impious  assertion]  from  his  [own] 
mouth." 

Chapter  xxiii.  1-4 

I  And  the  whole  multitude  of  them  rose  up,  and  led  him  to 
Pilate.     2  And  they  began  to  accuse  him,  saying: 

"We  found  this  [man]  turning  aside  the  nation  [from  their 
allegiance],  and  forbidding  to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  and  say- 
ing that  he  himself  is  an  Anointed  King." 

3  And  Pilate  questioned  him,  saying: 
"You  are  the  king  of  the  Jews?" 
And  he,  answering,  said  to  him: 
"You  say  [it]." 

4  And  Pilate  said  to  the  chief-priests  and  the  crowds: 
"I  find  nothing  criminal  in  this  man." 

COMMENTARY 

The  enclosed  field,  Gethsemane,  is  not  mentioned  in  this  narra- 
tive; lesous  does  not  permit  loudas  to  kiss  him;  the  young  man 
with  the  linen  cloth  fails  to  appear,  and  the  story  of  Simon's  denial 
is  given  a  more  prominent  position  and  an  added  flourish.  But 
it  is  clear  that  the  compiler  has  merely  rewritten  the  text  of  Mark, 
making  fanciful  changes,  and  attempting,  in  bad  taste  and  with 
ruinous  results,  to  improve  upon  its  literary  style. 

Ch.  xxiii.  5-16 

5  But  they  kept  insisting  [on  their  accusation],  saying: 

"He  is  stirring  up  the  people,  teaching  throughout  the  whole  of 
Judaea,  and  beginning  from  Galilee  even  to  this  place." 


8o2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

6  But  when  Pilate  heard  [this]  he  asked  whether  tlie  man  was 
a  GaHlcXan.  7  And  when  he  knew  that  he  was  from  Herod's  juris- 
(hction  he  extradited  him  to  Herod,  who  himself  also  was  in  Jeru- 
salem in  these  days.  8  And  Herod,  on  seeing  lesous,  rejoiced 
greatly;  for  he  was  for  a  long  time  wishing  to  see  him,  because  of 
hearing  [[many  things]]  about  him,  and  he  was  hoping  to  see 
some  miracle  performed  by  him.  9  And  he  questioned  him  in  many 
words;  but  he  answered  him  nothing.  10  And  the  chief-priests 
and  the  scribes  stood  strenuously  accusing  him.  1 1  And  Herod, 
with  his  troops,  treated  him  as  of  no  account,  and  played  a  childish 
game  on  him,  clothing  him  in  splendid  garments  [as  befitting  a 
king],  and  sent  him  back  to  Pilate.  12  And  both  Pilate  and  Herod 
l)ecame  friends  with  each  other  on  that  very  day;  for  formerly  they 
were  living  at  enmity  between  themselves. 

13  And  Pilate,  having  called  together  the  chief-priests  and  the 
rulers  and  the  people,     14  said  to  them  : 

"You  have  brought  to  me  this  man,  as  one  who  is  turning  aside 
the  people  [from  their  allegiance]  ;  and  behold,  I  have  conducted 
the  trial  [of  him]  before  you,  and  I  have  found  nothing  criminal 
in  this  man  [in  relation  to  the  crimes]  of  which  you  bring  accusa- 
tion against  him:  15  but  even  Herod  [did]  not;  for  he  sent  him 
back  to  us,  and  behold,  nothing  worthy  of  death  has  been  done  by 
him!     16  I  shall  therefore  discipline  him,  and  release  him." 

COMMENTARY 

This  story  is  not  even  plausible  fiction :  at  every  turn  it  shows  the 
crude  working  of  a  mind  incapable  of  originality  and  untrained  in 
accurate  thought— a  mind  that,  in  trying  to  exercise  the  inventive 
faculty,  merely  revives  old  impressions  and  is  blindly  led  by  the 
association  of  ideas.  Thus  the  statement,  copied  from  Mark,  that 
Simon  was  recognized  to  be  a  Galilsean  suggested  the  idea  that 
lesous  was  under  Herod's  jurisdiction.  It  had  already  been  said 
(ix.  7-9)  that  Herod,  having  heard  of  the  miracles  performed  by 
lesous,  desired  to  see  him.  But  lesous  could  not  be  sent  to  Galilee 
and  be  brought  back  in  time  for  the  crucifixion,  so  Herod  must  be 
opportunely  in  Jerusalem.     Herod  and  his  soldiers  mock  lesous  as 


TPIE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDIXG  TO  LUKE  803 

the  other  soldiers  had  done,  and  Pilate  is  so  pleased  at  the  original- 
ity of  the  joke  that  the  two  rulers  become  good  friends.  The  story, 
so  far  from  resembling  anything  historical,  betrays  the  mental  pov- 
erty of  an  amateur  writer  of  fiction:  it  is  peculiar  to  Luke  and  is 
evidently  from  the  same  hand  that  penned  the  Acts. 

Ch.  XXIII.  17-49 

[[17  X^ow,  he  was  under  necessity  to  release  to  them  at  a  fes- 
tival one    [prisoner].]]      18  But  they  one  and  all  cried  out: 

"Away  with  this  [man],  and  release  to  us  Barabbas!" 
19   (one  who,  for  a  certain  insurrection  started  in  the  city,  and 
for  murder,  was  thrown  into  prison).  20  And  Pilate  addressed 
them   again,   wishing   to   release    lesous;      21   but   they   kept 
shouting,   saying : 

"Crucify  [him]  !     Crucify  him!" 

22  And  he  said  to  them  the  third  time  : 

"Why,  what  offence  has  this  [man]  committed?  I  have 
found  nothing  criminal  in  him.  [deserving]  of  the  death-sen- 
tence.    I  shall  therefore  discipline  him,  and  release  him." 

2T^  But  they  kept  insisting,  with  loud  voices,  asking  that  he 
should  be  crucified.  And  their  voices  [[and  the  [voices]  of  the 
chief-priests]]  prevailed.  24  And  Pilate  adjudged  that  their 
request  should  be  granted.  25  And  he  released  [[to  them]] 
the  [prisoner]  who  for  insurrection  and  murder  had  been 
thrown  into  prison,  whom  they  asked  for;  but  he  handed  over 
lesous  to  their  will. 

26  And  as  they  led  him  away,  they  laid  hold  on  Simdn,  a 
certain  Cyrenaean,  coming  from  a  field,  and  put  upon  him  the 
cross,  to  bear  it  after  lesous.  27  And  there  were  following 
him  a  great  throng  of  the  people ;  also  women,  who  were  beat- 
ing their  breasts  and  bewailing  him.  28  And  lesous  turned 
to  them,  and  said: 

"Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  do  not  weep  for  me,  but  weep  for 
yourselves,  and  for  your  children.  29  For  behold,  the  days 
are  coming  in  which  they  will  say,  'Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the 
bellies  that  have  not  borne,  and  the  breasts  that  have  not  given  suck !' 


8o4  '1111^  R1':ST0RKD  XEW  TKSTAMEX'I" 

30  Then  they  will  begin  to  'say  to  the  nwuntains,'  '  "Fall  o)i  us!"  ' 
'and  to  the  hills,'  '  "Cover  us!"'  31  For  if  they  are  doing  these 
tilings  in  the  sapfni  tree,  what  will  happen  in  the  sapless  one?" 

;^2  And  two  others  also,  [who  were]  malefactors,  were  led 
with  him  to  be  put  to  death.  3  :^  And  when  they  came  to  the 
place  which  is  called  "The  Skull,"  there  they  crucified  him,  and 
the  malefactors,  one  at  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  at  the  left. 
34   [[And  lesous  said: 

"Father,  forgive  them;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."]] 

"And  sorting  out  and  distributing  his  garments  among  fhein. 
they  thrczv  dice."  },^  And  the  people  stood  beholding.  And  the 
I  priests  who  were  |  leaders  also  [  [with]  ]  them  were  sneering 
at  him,  saying : 

"He  saved  others;  let  him  save  himself,  if  this  is  God's 
Anointed,  the  one  singled  out.'" 

36  And  the  soldiers  also  made  sport  of  him,  coming  near  and 
offering  him  sour  wine,    2)7  saying: 

"If  ycm  are  tlic  King  of  tlie  Jews.  sa\"e  yourself." 

38  And  there  was  also  an  inscription  over  him  [[in  letters 
of  Greek  and  Latin  and  Flebrew]].  "This  is  the  King  of  the 
Jews." 

30  And  one  of  the  malefactors  who  had  been  suspended 
spoke  abusively  to  him,  saying : 

"Are  you  not  the  Anointed  [King]  ?     Save  yourself  and  us." 

40  But  the  other  reproved  him,  saying : 

"Do  you  not  even  fear  God,  since  you  are  under  the  same 
sentence?  41  And  we  indeed  justly;  for  we  are  receiving  [our] 
deserts  for  [the  deeds]  which  we  did;  but  this  [man]  has  done 
nothing  out  of  place."  42  And  he  said:  "lesous,  remember  me 
when  you  come  into  your  kingdom." 

43  And  [[lesous]]  said  to  him: 

"Amen,  I  say  to  you,  To-day  you  shall  be  with  me  in  the 
Garden  [of  God]." 

44  And  it  was  now  about  the  sixth  hour,  and  darkness  came 
over  the  whole  earth  until  the  ninth  hour,     45   the  sun  l^eing 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  805 

eclipsed;  and  the  curtain  of  the  sanctuary  was  torn  in  the  mid- 
dle.    46  And  lesous  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  said: 

"Father,  'iiito  thy  liaiuis  I  entrust  uiy  spirit' !" 
And  having  said  this,  he  expired.     47  And  when   the  cen- 
turion saw  what  had  happened  he  glorified  God,  saying: 
"Really  this  was  an  innocent  man." 

48  And  all  the  crowds  who  were  come  together  to  this  spectacle, 
when  they  beheld  the  things  which  happened,  returned  beating  their 
breasts,  [  [saying: 

"Woe  to  us.  such  things  have  been  done  to-day  on  account  of  our 
sins;  now  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem  draws  near!"]] 

49  And  all  his  friends,  and  the  women  who  had  followed  in  com- 
pany with  him  from  Galilee,  stood  afar  off,  looking  at  these  things. 

COMMENTARY 

The  incident  in  wiiich  lesous  is  treated  as  a  mock  king  bv  the 
soldiers  is  omitted  by  the  compiler  of  Luke,  as  he  had  s(|uanclered 
the  idea  by  weaving  it  into  the  fabrication  about  lesous  being  sent 
to  Herod.  But  he  fully  atones  for  this  by  introducing  the  incident 
of  the  repentant  malefactor,  which  is  indeed  a  beautiful  one,  and  is 
so  essentially  a  part  of  tlie  allegory  that,  although  not  found  in 
Mark,  it  may  be  regarded  as  genuine.  The  saying.  ''Father,  for- 
give them;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do,"  is  also  beautiful;  but 
it  has  no  good  authority  in  the  manuscripts,  and  it  is,  apparently, 
spoken  of  the  soldiers,  who  were  not  acting  on  their  own  volition. 

Needless  to  say,  there  was  not  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  at  the  date 
when  lesous  is  supposed,  "historically,"  to  have  been  crucified.  In 
later  manuscripts  the  wording  has  been  changed  to  "the  sun  was 
darkened"  (iaKOTLcrdr))  ;  but  the  true  reading  unquestionably  is 
Tov  tjXlov  eKXeLTTOVTo^,  "the  sun  being  eclipsed."  The  rendering  in 
the  revised  version,  "the  sun's  light  failing,"  with  a  foot-note  to  the 
effect  that  the  Greek  reads,  "the  sun  failing."  is  hardly  more  ex- 
cusable than  the  alteration  of  the  text  in  some  of  the  Greek  manu- 
scripts. Even  theologians  refuse  to  believe  that  the  sun  was 
eclipsed  for  three  hours. 


8o6  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ch.  xxiir.  50-Cii.  XXIV.  12 

50  And  l)c'hold,  a  man  named  Joseph,  who  was  a  councillor, 
a  good  and  just  man — 51  he  had  not  assented  to  their  counsel 
and  deed — of  Arimatha^a,  a  city  of  the  Jews,  who  [[also  him- 
self]] was  awaiting  the  kingdom  of  God:  52  this  [man]  went 
to  Pilate,  and  asked  for  the  body  of  lesous.  53  And  he  took  it 
down  and  swathed  it  in  a  Hnen  cloth,  and  placed  it  in  a  monu- 
ment cut  out  of  stone,  where  no  one  was  ever  yet  laid.  54  And 
it  was  Preparation-day,  and  the  sabbath  was  dawning.  55  And 
the  women,  who  had  come  with  him  out  of  Galilee,  followed 
closely,  and  saw  the  monument,  and  how  his  body  was  laid.  56 
And  they  returned,  and  prepared  aromatics  and  oil.  57  xA.nd 
on  the  sabbath  they  rested  agreeably  to  the  commandment; 

Chapter  xxiv.  1-12 

1  but  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  at  deep  morning  twilight, 
they  came  to  the  monument,  bringing  the  aromatics  [and  oil] 

which  they  had  prepared,  [[and  some  [others  came]  with  them]]. 

2  And  they  found  the  stone  rolled  away  from  [the  door]  of  the 
monument ;  3  but  when  they  entered  in  they  did  not  find  the  body 
[[of  the  Master  lesous]].  4  And  it  befell,  while  they  were  bewil- 
dered about  this,  that,  behold,  two  men  stood  near  them  [clothed] 
in  garments  that  gleamed  as  with  lightnings;  5  and  as  [the  wo- 
men] became  timorous  and  bowed  down  their  faces  to  the  earth, 
they  said  to  them  : 

"'Why  seek  ye  the  Living  One  among  the  deadf  6  [[He  is 
not  here,  but  is  risen.]]  Remember  how  he  spoke  to  you  while  he 
was  yet  in  Galilee,  7  saying,  'The  Son  of  man  must  be  handed  over 
into  the  hands  of  sinful  men,  and  be  crucified,  and  on  the  third  day 
rise  [from  the  dead].'  " 

8  And  they  remembered  his  words,  9  and  returned  [[from  the 
monument]],  and  reported  all  these  things  to  the  eleven,  and  to  all 
the  rest.  10  Now,  they  were  Mariam  the  temple-woman,  and 
loanna,  and  Mariam  the  [mother]  of  lakobos;  and  the  other  women 
with  them  told  these  things  to  the  apostles.     11   And  these  state- 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  807 

ments  seemed  before  them  like  nonsense;  and  they  disbeheved  them. 
[[12  But  Petros  arose,  and  ran  to  the  monument,  and  peeping  in 
he  sees  the  Hnen  cloths  [lying]  alone;  and  he  went  away,  wondering 
to  himself  at  what  had  happened.]] 

COMMENTARY 

Here  the  women  find  two  men  in  the  tomb,  whereas  according  to 
Mark  there  was  but  one  man,  while  according  to  MattJiczv  there 
was  no  one  in  the  tomb,  but  a  radiant  ''angel"  descended  from  the 
sky,  rolled  away  the  stone  and — probably  needing  rest  after  his 
exertions — seated  himself  before  delivering  his  message.  In  Luke, 
verse  23  following,  the  two  "men"  are  termed  "angels" — Divinities. 
Now,  although  modern  theology  teaches  that  angels  are  not  men, 
and  that  men  can  never  become  angels,  however  hopefully  Christian 
children  may  sing,  '*I  want  to  be  an  angel,"  it  seems  that  the  com- 
pilers of  these  Gospels  took  the  opposite  view ;  for  the  two  mysteri- 
ous persons  who  appeared  in  the  tomb  were  certainly  angels,  yet 
they  are  called  "men."  There  can  be  but  one  true  ending  to  the 
drama  of  the  crucifixion,  and  that  is  the  resurrection  of  lesous  him- 
self as  a  God — an  "angel."  But  that  ending  did  not  suit  the  pur- 
pose of  the  priests  who  turned  the  allegory  into  a  history.  The 
allegorical  story  of  lesous  is  that  of  a  mortal  who  attained  to  con- 
scious immortality,  and  with  that  attainment  the  story  naturally 
ends.  But  according  to  the  "historical"  travesty  lesous  was  a  God 
from  the  moment  of  his  birth ;  hence  the  final  scene  of  the  drama 
had  to  be  rewritten.  Three  historians  having  performed  that  task 
independently — or,  rather,  two  of  them  having  thus  revised  the 
work  of  the  first — it  is  but  natural  that  the  three  accounts  should 
be  conflicting.  Yet  even  while  trying  to  conceal  the  fact  that  lesous 
at  his  resurrection  manifested  as  a  resplendent  Immortal,  the  crude 
mentality  of  the  forger  could  not  refrain  from  reproducing,  in  some 
form,  the  idea  of  a  divine  apparition  at  the  resurrection:  therefore 
one  forger,  though  substituting  "a  young  man"  for  lesous,  clothes 
him  in  a  white  robe ;  another  replaces  him  by  two  men  whose  gar- 
ments emit  a  dazzling  light,  and  another  has  an  "angel"  descend 
from  the  sky.     Each  of  these  accounts  partly  reproduces  what  must 


8o8  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

have  been  the  description  of  the  apj3arition  given  in  the  original 
text — that  of  lesous  transformed  into  a  God,  a  man  spiritually  per- 
fected, reborn  in  the  effulgent  body  which  with  changeless  youth 
and  beauty  gives  outer  seeming  to  the  deathless  Self.  Thus  the 
hero  of  the  sacred  drama  becomes  the  Lord  Dionysos. 

Cii.  XXIV.  13-32 

13  And  behold,  two  of  them  were  going  on  that  very  day  to  a 
village,  the  name  of  which  is  Emmaus,  distant  sixty  stadia  from 
Jerusalem;  14  and  they  were  conversing  with  one  another  about 
all  these  things  which  had  occurred.  15  And  it  befell,  as  they  were 
conversing  and  arguing,  that  lesous  himself  drew  near,  and  accom- 
panied them;  16  but  their  eyes  were  restrained,  that  they  should 
not  recognize  him.     17  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"What  are  these  words  which  you  are  bandying  with  one  another 
as  you  walk,  [  [and  are  glum-visaged]  ]  ?" 

18  And  one  [of  them],  named  Kleopas.  said  to  him: 

"Do  you  reside  as  a  solitary  stranger  in  Jerusalem,  and  have  not 
known  of  the  happenings  in  it  in  these  days?" 

19  And  he  said  to  them : 
"What  happenings  ?" 
And  they  said  to  him  : 

"The  things  concerning  lesous  the  Xazarene,  who  appeared  as  a 
prophet,  mighty  in  deed  and  word  before  God  and  all  the  people; 
20  and  how  the  chief-priests  and  our  rulers  handed  him  over  to 
sentence  of  death,  and  crucified  him.  21  But  we  w^ere  hoping  that 
it  W'as  he  who  w^as  about  to  ransom  Israel.  Yet  surely  also,  with 
all  these  things,  [the  nation]  is  observing  [the  feast]  on  this  third 
day  since  these  things  took  place.  22  And  withal  certain  women 
from  among  us  astounded  us :  they,  having  arrived  early  at  the 
monument,  23  and  not  having  found  his  body,  came  saying  that 
they  had  also  seen  a  vision  of  Divinities,  who  say  that  he  is  living. 
24  And  some  of  those  who  are  with  us  went  to  the  monument,  and 
found  it  so,  just  as  the  women  said ;  but  they  did  not  see  him." 

25  And  he  said  to  them : 

"O  unintelligent  [men],  and  slow  in  heart  to  believe  in  all  which 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  809 

the  prophets  have  spoken !  26  Was  it  not  inevitable  for  the  Anointed 
to  suffer  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory?" 

2^  And  beginning  from  Aloses  and  from  all  the  prophets,  he  in- 
terpreted to  them  in  all  the  scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself. 
28  And  they  drew  near  to  the  village  where  they  were  going;  and 
he  feigned  to  be  going  farther.  29  And  they  constrained  him, 
saying : 

''Stay  with  us;  for  it  is  towards  evening,  and  the  day  has  de- 
clined." 

And  he  went  in  to  stay  with  them.  30  And  it  befell,  when  he 
had  reclined  [at  table]  with  them,  that  he  took  the  loaf  of  bread 
and  blessed  it ;  and  having  broken  it  in  pieces,  he  gave  [the  por- 
tions] to  them.  31  And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  recog- 
nized him.  And  he  became  invisible,  [\'anishing]  from  them.  32 
And  they  said  to  one  another: 

"Was  not  our  heart  burning  [[in  us]],  as  he  was  speaking  to  us 
on  the  road,  [[and]]  as  he  was  opening  to  us  the  scriptures?" 

COMMENTARY 

Josephus  speaks  of  a  village  named  Emmaus  that  was  thirty  .yfacf/a 
from  Jerusalem ;  but  as  that  distance  was  too  short  for  the  above 
story,  the  historian  Lxikc  has  stretched  it  to  sixty  stadia. 

According:  to  Luke's  version,  the  resurrection  of  lesous  was  sim- 
ply  the  reanimation  of  his  physical  body.  He  walks  out  of  the 
tomb,  and  on  meeting  two  of  his  disciples  casts  a  glamour  over 
their  eyes,  so  that  they  can  not  recognize  him.  One  of  these  two 
disciples  bears  the  Greek  name  Kleopas,  which  is  probably  a  con- 
traction of  Kleopatros;  he  is  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time,  and 
his  companion  is  not  named.  Having  deceived  these  disciples  by 
a  magical  trick,  lesous  pretends  to  be  ignorant  of  the  tragic  events 
in  which  he  himself  has  been  the  chief  actor;  by  this  simple  device 
he  draws  out  from  the  two  disciples  (who  seem  to  speak  in  con- 
cert) a  prosy  account  of  the  things  that  had  happened  at  Jerusalem 
after  his  departure.  W'hen  the  historian  states  that  lesous  began 
"from  Aloses  and  from  all  the  prophets,"  he  means,  of  course,  that 
he  began  from  Moses  and  went  through  the  prophets.     Having  in- 


8io  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

terested  the  disciples  by  this  learned  discourse,  lesous  pretends  tliat 
he  is  going  farther,  and  by  this  "white  lie"  secures  an  invitation  to 
lodge  with  them;  and  then,  while  giving  an  imitation  of  the  "last 
supper,"  he  reveals  himself.  This  is  the  cheapest  sort  of  romance, 
and  it  deplorably  profanes  the  majesty  of  the  Crucified. 

Ch.  XXIV.  33-53 

33  And  they  rose  up  that  very  hour,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem ; 
and  they  found  the  eleven  assembled,  and  those  who  were  with 
them,    34  saying : 

"The  Master  is  really  risen,  and  has  appeared  to  Simon." 

35  And  they  narrated  the  things  [which  had  happened]  on  the 
road,  and  how  he  was  known  to  them  in  the  breaking  of  the  loaf. 
36  And  as  they  were  telling  these  things.  [[lesous]]  himself  stood 
in  their  midst,  [  [and  says  to  them  : 

"Peace  to  you."]  ] 

37  But  they  were  dismayed,  and  timorous,  and  imagined  they 
were  seeing  a  spirit.    38  And  he  said  to  them  : 

"Why  are  you  agitated,  and  wherefore  do  reasonings  spring  up 
in  your  heart?  39  See  m}^  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it  is  I  myself. 
Feel  me.  and  see:  for  a  spirit  does  not  have  flesh  and  bones,  just  as 
you  behold  me  having  [them]." 

[  [40  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  showed  them  his  hands  and 
his  feet.]]  41  And  while  they  were  still  disbelieving  for  joy.  and 
were  wondering,  he  said  to  them : 

"Have  you  anything  eatable  here?" 

42  And  they  gave  him  a  piece  of  a  broiled  fish  [[and  a  honey- 
comb]]. 43  And  he  took  it,  and  ate  it  before  them.  44  And  he 
said  to  them : 

"These  are  my  words  which  I  spoke  to  you  while  I  was  yet  with 
you,  that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled  which  are  written  in  the  law 
of  Moses,  and  the  prophets  and  Psalms,  concerning  me." 

45  Then  he  opened  their  intuitive  mind  for  the  understanding 
of  the  scriptures ;    46  and  he  said  to  them  : 

"Thus  it  is  written,  [[and  thus  it  was  inevitable]],  that  the 
Anointed  should  suffer  [death],  and  rise  from  the  dead  on  the  third 


THE  GOOD  TIDINGS  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE  8ii 

day,  47  and  that  in  his  name  repentance  for  remission  of  sins 
should  be  proclaimed  to  all  the  nations — beginning  from  Jerusalem. 
48  You  are  witnesses  of  these  things.  49  And  behold,  I  am  send- 
ing out  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you ;  but  do  you  remain  in 
the  city  [[of  Jerusalem]]  until  you  are  clothed  with  power  from 
the  heights  [of  the  sky]." 

50  And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany;  and  he  lifted  up 
his  hands  and  blessed  them.  51  And  it  befell,  as  he  was  blessing 
them,  that  he  parted  from  them  [  [and  was  carried  up  into  the  sky]  ] . 
52  And  they  [[worshipped  him.  and]]  returned  to  Jerusalem  with 
great  joy,    53  and  were  always  in  the  temple,  blessing  God. 

COMMENTARY 

After  carrying  out  petty  deceptions  on  the  two  companions,  lesous 
stealthily  follows  them  to  the  city,  and  breaks  in  upon  the  group  of 
disciples  in  a  manner  well  calculated  to  startle  them.  The  words 
he  employs  to  allay  their  fears  might  well  have  the  opposite  effect, 
increasing  their  alarm :  for  his  statement  is  ambiguous.  Verse  39, 
translated  above  in  accordance  with  what  the  forger  evidently  in- 
tended to  say,  may  fully  as  well  be  construed  in  a  contrary  sense : 
"See  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  (ort)  it  is  I  myself.  Feel  me, 
and  see  that  (otl)  a  spirit  has  not  flesh  and  bones,  just  as  you  be- 
hold me  having  [none]."  The  heretic  ]Marcion.  in  the  second  cen- 
tury, maintained  that  this  is  the  true  meaning.  But  it  is  more  prob- 
able that  the  words  were  meant  for  a  denial  of  ethereality,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  lesous  forthwith  proceeded  to  demonstrate  his  car- 
nality by  eating  a  piece  of  broiled  fish.  A  later  forger  has  gener- 
ously added  honey  to  the  repast. 

lesous  meets  the  disciples  in  Jerusalem,  commands  them  to  re- 
main in  the  city  till  they  are  ''clothed  with  power,"  and  then  parts 
from  them,  his  resurrected  physical  body  floating  upward  and  dis- 
appearing in  the  zenith.  The  latter  statement  has  been  added  by  a 
belated  historian,  who  probably  thought  that  the  narrative  needed  a 
finishing  touch  of  absurdity.  But  according  to  Matthew  (xvi.  32: 
xxviii.  10,  16,  17)  the  disciples  did  not  meet  lesous  until  they  saw 
him  at  a  mountain  in  Galilee.     It  is  impossible  to  reconcile  the  two 


8i2  THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 

accounts,  and  even  ortliodox  faith  has  not  arms  long  enough  to 
fold  the  two  of  them  in  one  loving  emhrace.  To  accept  the  Gospels 
as  history,  the  reader  must  take  them  one  at  a  time,  and  while  he 
is  reading  one  he  must  exclude  the  others  from  his  mind.  He  can 
expand  his  faith  only  by  contracting  his  intellect. 

In  the  heyday  of  "orthodoxy,"  so-called  "Harmonies"  of  the  four 
Gospels  were  compiled,  in  which  attempted  explanations  were  of- 
fered of  the  many  discrepancies  found  in  the  writings  of  the  "in- 
spired" disciples  who  recorded  the  life  of  Jesus.  But  it  is  now 
recognized  by  all  well-informed  critics  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  is 
distinct  from,  and  inconsistent  with,  the  three  Synoptics,  and  that 
the  latter,  although  derived  from  a  common  source,  can  not  possibly 
be  harmonized.  The  mass  of  literature  produced  by  scholars  seek- 
ing to  solve  the  "Synoptic  problem"  is,  for  the  most  part,  merely 
destructive;  for  the  spuriousness  of  much  of  the  text  is  obvious, 
while  that  which  is  true  and  beautiful  in  it  is  obscured.  By  striking 
out  the  pseudo-Jewish  forgeries,  however,  and  then  restoring  to 
their  proper  sequence  the  Hellenic  portions  of  the  text,  the  narrative 
proves  to  be  a  consistent  allegory.  But  the  allegory  is  intelligible 
only  when  considered  as  a  veiled  exposition  of  the  ancient  esoteric 
philosophy  as  taught  in  the  religion  of  Dionysos,  the  God  of  Seer- 
ship  and  of  Spiritual  Rebirth. 


GLOSSARY 


Abaddon  (Heb.  abaddon,  "ruin"), 
given  in  the  Apocalypse  as  a  proper 
name,  the  "Destroyer,"  God  of  the  Tar- 
tarean Abyss. 

Abyss  (Gk.  abyssos,  "bottomless"), 
a  gulf  or  pit  in  Tartaros.  In  the  Iliad 
(viii.  14-16)  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  very 
deep  gnlf  (berethron)  in  Tartaros 
which  is  "as  much  below  Hades  as 
heaven  is  above  the  earth." 

Adhishthana  (Sk.),  the  second  of 
the  force-centres  in  the  human  body, 
the  prostatic  plexus. 

lEon  (Gk.  aion),  a  period  of  time, 
lifetime,  generation,  age,  or  any  defi- 
nite period.  Among  the  Gnostics  the 
.Eons  were  emanations  proceeding 
from  the  divine  essence,  and  Gods  and 
Goddesses. 

.ffither  (Gk.  aither,Jrom  aithcin,  "to 
shine"),  the  same  as  Akasha,  which  see. 

Ajna  (Sk.),  the  sixth  of  the  force- 
centres  in  the  human  body,  the  cav- 
ernous plexus. 

Akasha  (Sk.),  the  first  differenti- 
ated tattva  or  subtile  element;  the  di- 
vine prim.ordial  substance,  heavenly 
aether. 

Amen,  claimed  theologically  to  be  a 
Hebrew  word  meaning,  as  a  noun, 
"faith";  as  a  verbal  adjective,  "trust- 
worthy" ;  and  as  an  adverb,  "truly." 
However  that  may  be,  it  is  a  word  of 
evocation,  and  as  such  is  practically 
equivalent  to  the  Sanskrit  Au)n.  (See 
Om.) 

Anahata  (Sk.),  the  fourth  of  the 
force-centres  in  the  human  body,  the 
cardiac  plexus. 

Androgyne  (Gk.  androgynes,  "man- 
woman"),  one  having  the  characteris- 
tics of  both  sexes,  an  hermaphrodite. 

Apana  (Sk.),  the  downgoing  life, 
one  of  the  five  pranas. 

Apas  (Sk.),  the  subtile  element  wa- 
ter. 


Aphrodite  (Gk.),  the  Goddess  of 
Love  and  Beauty ;  Guardian  of  the  zo- 
diacal sign  Taurus,  and  Regent  of  the 
planet  Venus.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Zeus  and  Dione,  and  wife  of 
Hephaistos.     Latin,  Venus. 

Apollon  (Gk.),  the  Sun-God;  pa- 
tron of  augury,  music,  medicine  and 
archery;  Guardian  of  the  zodiacal  sign 
Gemini.  He  was  the  son  of  Zeus  and 
Leto  (Lat.  Latona),  and  brother  of 
Artemis.    Latin,  Apollo. 

Aquarius  (Lat.;  Gk.  Hydrochoos). 
the  Water-bearer,  or  Water-pourer, 
(i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constellations; 
(2)  the  eleventh  sign  of  the  zodiac. 
Owing  to  the  precession  of  the  equi- 
noxes this  sign  now  contains  the  con- 
stellation Capricornus. 

Arche  (Gk.),  first  cause,  origin, 
germ ;  first  principle  or  element ;  the 
primordial  substance. 

Ares  (Gk.),  the  God  of  War;  Guar- 
dian of  the  zodiacal  sign  Scorpio,  and 
Regent  of  the  planet  Mars.  He  was 
the  son  of  Zeus  and  Hera.  Latin, 
Mars. 

Aries  (Lat.;  Gk.  Krios),  the  Ram, 
(i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constellations; 
(2)  the  first  sign  of  the  zodiac.  Owing 
to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  this 
sign  now  contains  the  constellation 
Pisces. 

Artemis  (Gk.),  the  Goddess  of 
Hunting  and  of  Childbirth;  Guardian 
of  the  zodiacal  sign  Sagittarius.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Zeus  and  Leto 
(Lat.  Latona),  and  sister  of  Apollon. 
Latin,  Diana.  She  was  often  identi- 
fied with  Selene,  the  Moon. 

Asklepiadic,  pertaining  to  Asklepios, 
fabled  son  of  Apollon  and  tutelary 
God  of  Medicine. 

Astarte  (Gk. ;  Sem.  AsJiforeth).  a 
Phoenician  Goddess,  identified  with  Ve- 
nus, and  also  with  the  zodiacal  Virgo. 

Athena  (Gk.),  the  Goddess  of  Wis- 


813 


8i4 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


dom  and  of  the  Arts ;  Guardian  of  the 
zodiacal  sign  Aries.  From  Athena 
and  Hephaistos,  says  Plato  (Protag- 
oras, p.  321),  Prometheus  stole  the 
fire  and  mechanical  arts  which  he  gave 
to  mankind.  She  is  usually  identified 
with  the  Roman  Minerva. 

Atlas  (Gk.,  from  Ph.  Aid,  "Dark- 
ness"), a  God  who  was  fabled  to  up- 
bear the  starry  vault ;  he  was  a  brother 
of  the  Titan  Prometheus  ("Fore- 
thought"). 

Augoeides  (Gk.).  "like  light,"  espe- 
cially the  solar  radiance ;  a  term  ap- 
plied to  the  solar  body. 

Aura  (Gk.  and  Lat.),  air  in  motion; 
the  subtile  fluid  surrounding  a  material 
body,  the  aureola. 

Aureola  (Lat.  aiircolus,  "golden"), 
the  "glory"  (doxa)  or  sphere  of  light 
(invisible  to  the  physical  eyes)  sur- 
rounding the  human  body. 

Autopsia  (Gk.),  a  seeing  with  one's 
own  eyes ;  one  of  the  degrees  of  initia- 
tion. 

Avatar  (Sk.  avatara,  from  ava, 
"from,"  and  tri,  "to  cross  over"),  a 
divine  incarnation ;  the  voluntary  de- 
scent to  earth  of  a  Savior  or  divine 
Teacher. 

Avyakta  (Sk.).  undifferentiated  sub- 
stance ;  that  which  is  unmanifested. 

Bakchos.     (See  Dionysos.) 
Brahma   (Sk.).  the  first  member  of 
the  Hindu  Trinity,  the  Evolver  of  the 
Universe,   the   Logos ;   a  name  applied 
to  the  seventh  taffva. 

Brahmarandra  (Sk.,  "door  of 
God"),  a  spot  in  the  crown  of  the  head 
whence  the  sushumna  current  passes. 

Caduceus  (Lat.;  Gk.kcrukeion')Ah.& 
winged  and  serpent-twisted  staff  or 
wand  of  Hermes. 

Cancer  (Lat.;  Gk.  Karkiiios),  the 
Crab,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constel- 
lations; (2)  the  fourth  sign  of  the  zo- 
diac. Owing  to  the  precession  of  the 
equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains  the 
constellation  Gemini. 

Capricornus  (Lat.;  Gk.  Aigokcros, 
"Goat-horned"),  the  Goat,  (i)  one  of 
the  zodiacal  constellations;  (2)  the 
tenth  sign  of  the  zodiac.     Owing  to  the 


precession  of  the  equinoxes  this  sign 
now  contains  the  constellation  Sagit- 
tarius. 

Caste,  an  hereditary  class  of  society 
in  India,  where  the  people  are  divided 
arbitrarily  into  many  castes.  Originally 
there  were  but  four  castes,  correspond- 
ing to  the  four  colors  of  the  races — 
white,  red,  yellow  and  black  — and  per- 
sons of  mixed  blood  were  outcasts.  In 
organized  society  men  naturally  fall 
into  four  classes,  as  scholars,  warriors, 
commercialists  and  laborers ;  and  this 
classification  was  generally  recognized 
in  antiquity. 

Chakra  (Sk.),  a  disk;  any  force- 
centre  in  the  body. 

Chiton  (Gk.),  an  undergarment,  a 
tunic  or  loose  garment  worn  by  either 
sex. 

Chrestos.  (See  Christos.) 
Christos  (Gk.),  a  verbal  adjective 
meaning  "anointed,"  from  chrein,  "to 
anoint."  "The  Anointed."  as  an  ap- 
pellation, signified  a  King  or  an  Initi- 
ate. In  the  Nczv  Testament  the  word 
Christos  has  often  been  dishonestly 
substituted  for  Chrestos,  "good,"  "de- 
serving," a  term  applied  to  a  worthy 
candidate  for  initiation.  As  said  by 
Lactantius  {Lib.  IV,  cap.  vii),  "it  is 
only  through  ignorance  that  men  call 
themselves  Christians  instead  of  Chres- 
tians." 

Cosmos  (Gk.  kosmos,  "order"),  the 
universe  as  an  orderly  system. 

Daimon  (Gk.),  a  God;  a  spirit  or 
ghost. 

Daivaprakriti  (Sk.),  primordial  di- 
vine substance. 

Decan  (Gk.  dcka,  "ten"),  the  third 
part,  or  ten  degrees,  of  each  zodiacal 
sign.  Each  decan  had  its  particular 
star,  and  the  thirty-six  stars  were  as- 
sociated with  the  thirty-six  paranatel- 
lons,  or  extra-zodiacal  constellations. 
For  their  Grasco-Egyptian  names,  see 
Julius  Firmicus,  iv.  16. 

Demeter  (Gk.),  the  Goddess  of 
Grain  and  Tillage ;  Guardian  of  the 
zodiacal  sign  Virgo.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Kronos  and  Ops,  and  the 
mother  of  Persephone,  and,  according 
to  some  authorities,  of  Dionysos.  Latin, 
Ceres. 


GLOSSARY 


815 


Demiurge  (Gk.  Dcmiourgos.  "artifi- 
cer." "handicraftsman"),  in  the  Pla- 
tonic philosophy,  the  World-builder, 
the  Creative  Logos. 

Diabolos  (Gk.),  a  slanderer,  false 
accuser  ;  the  theological  "Devil.'' 

Dionysos  (Gk. ;  Assyrian,  Dian- 
Nisi,  "Judge  of  Alankind"),  the  Se- 
mitic Sun-God,  whose  worship  became 
wide-spread  in  Greece,  where  he  was 
also  called  Bakchos  and  lakchos,  from 
iachcin.  "to  cry  out  joyfully."  By  some 
he  was  said  to  be  the  son  of  Zeus  and 
Semele ;  by  others,  of  Zeus  and  Deme- 
ter.  As  the  Sun-God  he  was  identical 
with  .\poll6n.  and  was  the  God  of  spir- 
itual inspiration,  seership  and  sacred 
knowledge ;  but  he  was  popularly  con- 
fused with  the  indigenous  Greek  God 
of  Wine.  Dionysos  was  reputed  to  be 
the  founder  of  the  Mysteries,  and  was 
called  the  Savior,  the  Twice-born,  the 
Healer,  the  Androgyne,  the  Fan-bearer, 
or  Purifier,  among  other  titles.  The 
lesous  of  the  A'rii'  Testament  is  sim- 
ply the  solar  Dionysos.  having  the  char- 
acteristics of  both  Apolldn  and  Her- 
mes. 

Eleusinia  (Gk.),  Mysteries  annu- 
ally celebrated  in  ancient  Greece.  The 
Greater  Eleusinia  were  held  in  Septem- 
ber, and  the  Lesser  Eleusinia  in  Feb- 
ruary. 

Epistemonic  ( Gk.  episfcinoiiikos), 
relating  to  wisdom,  positive  knowledge, 
or  true  science. 

Epithumetic  (Gk.  cpithumetikos), 
desiring,  lusting. 

Erebos  (Gk.),  a  gloomy  intermedi- 
ate region  between  Earth  and  Hades 
through  which  the  souls  of  the  dead 
must  pass  when  going  to  or  returning 
from  Hades. 

Esoteric  (Gk.  esoterikos),  inner,  in- 
timate ;  known  only  to  the  initiated. 

Exoteric  (Gk.  exotcrikos),  external, 
public ;  known  to  the  uninitiated. 

Gemini  (Lat. ;  Gk.  Didymoi).  the 
Twins,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constel- 
lations; (2)  the  third  sign  of  the  zo- 
diac. Owing  to  the  precession  of  the 
equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains  the 
constellation  Taurus. 

Gnosis    (Gk.),  knowledge,  wisdom; 


the  sacred  science.  Ecclesiastical  his- 
torians attempt  to  show  that  Gnosti- 
cism took  its  origin  from  Christianity 
during  the  first  century ;  but  Gnosti- 
cism certainly  existed  long  before 
Christianity  was  formulated  by  the  ex- 
oteric priests  who  fabricated  the  Gos- 
pels, probably  not  earlier  than  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  first  century. 

Hades  (Gk.  "A(dw,  probabl}^  from  a, 
privative  (Eng.  un-),  and  idelv,  "to 
see"),  in  Homer,  the  name  of  the  God 
who  was  later  called  Plouton.  In  post- 
Homeric  times  the  word  was  applied 
to  the  unseen  world,  the  grave,  and 
death,  while  Plouton  was  named  as  the 
God  presiding  over  the  underworld. 

Hekate  (Gk.).  a  Goddess  who  pre- 
sided over  purifying  and  atoning  rites, 
also  over  popular  assemblies,  war.  the 
rearing  of  children,  etc.  She  was  some- 
times represented  as  bearing  a  torch. 
She  was  supposed  to  wander  about  at 
night,  and  in  one  aspect  was  considered 
the  patroness  of  sorcery.  She  was  rep- 
resented as  of  triple  form,  because  she 
was  Selene  in  heaven,  Artemis  on 
earth,  and  Hekate  (or  Persephone)  in 
Hades. 

Helios  (Gk.).  the  sun;  the  Sun- 
God,  identical  with  Apollon. 

Hephaistos  (Gk.),  the  God  of  all 
arts  in  which  fire  is  used ;  Guardian 
of  the  zodiacal  sign  Libra.  He  was 
the  son  of  Zeus  and  Hera,  and  the  hus- 
band of  Aphrodite.  Latin,  Vulcanus, 
Vulcan. 

Hera  (Gk.),  the  Queen  of  the  Gods; 
Guardian  of  the  zodiacal  sign  Aqua- 
rius. She  was  the  daughter  of  Kronos 
and  Rhea,  and  the  wife  of  Zeus.  Latin, 
Juno. 

Hermes  (Gk.),  the  Shepherd-God, 
and  God  of  all  arts  and  sciences,  espe- 
cially of  occult  wisdom  and  magic; 
Guardian  of  the  zodiacal  sign  Cancer, 
and  Regent  of  the  planet  Mercury.  He 
was  the  Son  of  Zeus  and  Maia,  even  as 
lesous  was  the  son  of  the  Divine  Fa- 
ther and  Maria  or  Mariam.  Latin, 
Mcrciirius,  Mercury. 

Hestia  (Gk.),  the  Goddess  of  the 
Hearth  and  the  Home ;  Guardian  of 
the  zodiacal  sign  Capricornus.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Kronos  and  Rhea. 
Latin,  Vesta. 


8i6 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


Hierophant  (Gk.  hicrophantes,  "one 
who  explains  sacred  things"),  the  title 
of  the  initiator  in  the  Eleusinian  Mys- 
teries ;  an  initiated  teacher. 

Hydranos  (Gk.),  Sprinkler,  Bather; 
the  title  of  the  hierophant  of  the  Lesser 
Eleusinian  IMysteries. 

Ichchha-shakti  (Sk.),  the  power  of 

will. 

Ichor  (Gk.),  the  ^ethereal  fluid  which 
took  the  place  of  blood  in  the  veins  of 
the  Gods. 

Ida  (Sk.),  the  current  of  the  kun- 
dalin'i  which  flows  on  the  left  side  of 
the  human  body. 

Initiation,  admission  to  the  sacred 
Mysteries,  whether  by  formal  instruc- 
tion or  by  interior  illumination. 

Ixion  (Gk.),  a  mythical  king  of 
Thessaly  whom  Hermes,  by  order  of 
Zeus,  punished  for  certain  crimes  by 
binding  him  to  a  fiery  wheel  which 
rolls  unceasingly  through  the  air  or 
through  the  underworld. 

Jiiana-shakti  (Sk.),  the  power  of 
knowledge. 

Kabbala,  a  system  of  Jewish  The- 
osophy. 

Kama-rupa  (Sk.),  desire-body;  a 
subjective  form  created  through  men- 
tal and  physical  desires  and  impulses, 
and  which  survi\jes  for  a  time  after  the 
death  of  the  physical  body. 

Kriya-shakti  (Sk.),  the  occult  crea- 
tive potency  of  thought. 

Kronos  (Gk.),  the  God  of  Time,  the 
name  being  interpreted  as  if  it  were 
chronos ;  Regent  of  the  planet  Saturn, 
which  the  Greeks  sometimes  called 
"the  star  of  the  Sun,"  or  Helios,  "the 
Sun"  (Diodoros,  ii.  30).  Kronos  was 
the  Sun-God  of  the  Golden  Age,  but 
was  deposed  by  his  sons  and  banished 
to  Tartaros,  Zeus  reigning  in  his  stead. 
Latin,  Cronus  and  Saturnus. 

Kundalini-shakti  (Sk.),  the  power 
that  moves  in  an  annular  or  serpentine 
path ;  the  basic  force  of  life. 

Kybele  (Gk.),  a  Phrygian  Goddess, 
identiiied  with  Rhea. 

Lacuna   (Lat.,  "a  hollow"),  a  blank 


space  or  hiatus  in  a  manuscript  where 
one  or  more  words  are  wanting. 

Leo  (Lat.;  Gk.  Leon),  the  Lion, 
(i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constellations; 
(2)  the  fifth  sign  of  the  zodiac.  Ow- 
ing to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes 
this  sign  now  contains  the  constella- 
tion Cancer. 

Libation  (Lat.  libatio),  a  drink-of- 
fering, a  sacrifice,  or  act  of  worship, 
made  by  pouring  liquid  (usually  wine 
or  oil)  on  the  ground  in  honor  of  a 
Divinity ;  the  liquid  so  poured  out. 

Libra  (Lat.;  Gk.  Chclai,  "Claws"), 
the  Balance,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal 
constellations;  (2)  the  seventh  sign  of 
the  zodiac.  Owing  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains 
the  constellation  Virgo.  In  the  most 
ancient  known  zodiac  this  sign  was 
represented  by  the  Claws  of  the  Scor- 
pion grasping  an  Altar ;  the  Babyloni- 
ans later  dropped  the  Altar  from  the 
representation,  leaving  only  the  dispro- 
portionately large  Claws  in  the  sign ; 
and  the  Greeks,  when  they  adopted  the 
Babylonian  zodiac,  substituted  for  the 
Claws  the  Balance,  taking  the  latter 
from  the  Egyptian  zodiac. 

Logos  (Gk.),  speech  and  reason,  the 
power  of  the  mind  expressed  by  speech  ; 
the  Divine  Thought  operating  in  mat- 
ter; the  Manifested  Deity. 

Lustration  (Lat.  lustrafio),  sym- 
bolic purification,  commonly  by  sprin- 
kling or  washing  with  water,  but  also 
by  fumigating  (usually  with  sulphur), 
passing  through  fire,  etc. 

Macrocosm  (Gk.  makrokosmos). 
the  great  world,  as  distinguished  from 
man,  the  microcosm  or  "little  world." 

Magna  Mater  (Lat.).  "the  Great 
Mother."  an  appellation  of  Rhea,  As- 
tarte,  and  other  Goddesses. 

Manipuraka  (Sk.),  the  third  of  the 
force-centres  in  the  human  body,  the 
epigastric  plexus. 

Manteia  (Gk.),  a  state  of  ecstatic 
trance. 

Mantis  (Gk.),  a  seer. 

Mantrika-shakti  (Sk.),  the  occult 
power  of  speech  or  sound. 

Messiah  (Heb.  Mashiach,  "Anoint- 
ed"), the  same  as  Christos;  an  initi- 
ated hierophant,  or  divine  teacher. 


GLOSSARY 


817 


Microcosm  (Gk.  mikrokosmos),  a 
little  world  or  universe ;  man  as  an 
epitome  of  the  macrocosm  or  great 
universe. 

Muladhara  (Sk.).  the  first  of  the 
force-centres  in  the  human  body,  the 
sacral  plexus. 

Mysteries  (Gk.  mysteria,  from 
myein,  "to  close"),  secret  truths;  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  initiation  in 
the  esoteric  religion. 

Mystic  (Gk.  mystikos,  from  mystes, 
"an  initiate  in  the  Mysteries"),  occult, 
secret ;  incomprehensible  to  the  lower 
reasoning  faculty. 

Mythos  (Gk.),  a  myth;  a  fanciful 
story  containing  a  hidden  meaning. 

Nadi  (Sk.),  a  tube;  a  current  of 
force  in  the  human  body. 

Neophyte  (Gk.  neophytos,  "newly 
planted"),  one  newly  consecrated;  a 
candidate  for  initiation. 

Noetic.     (See  Nous.) 

Nous  (Gk.).  the  mind,  especially  the 
spiritual,  immortal  mind,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  psychic,  mortal  mind. 
phren. 

Cannes  (Gk.),  the  primeval  Fish- 
God  of  Lower  Babylonia;  also  called 
Dagon.  He  was  represented  as  a  form 
compounded  of  a  man  and  a  fish.  It 
was  said  that  he  was  wont  to  spend  the 
ddiV  among  men,  teaching;  but  that  at 
night  he  retired  into  the  sea,  or  "great 
deep" :  this  was  but  an  allegorical  way 
of  stating  the  fact  that  a  seer  can  at 
will  transfer  his  consciousness  from 
the  objective  to  the  subjective  plane,  so 
that  while  his  body  is  asleep  his  sub- 
jective self  is  energizing  consciously 
in  the  psychic  and  spiritual  worlds. 
The  spxead  of  Christianity  in  regions 
where  Oannes  had  formerly  been  wor- 
shipped was  undoubtedly  aided  by  the 
similarity  (amounting  to  practically 
the  identity)  of  the  name  to  loannes ; 
and  there  were  sects  that  accepted 
loannes  "the  Baptist"  and  yet  rejected 
lesous. 

Om  (Sk.),  a  contracted  form  of 
Aum,  a  sacred  mystical  syllable  repre- 
senting the  Hindu  Trinit}'.  It  is  used 
occultly     to      arouse      the     kundalini 


through  the  correlation  between  sound 
and  the  vital  electricity. 

Orcus  (Lat.),  the  underworld,  the 
abode  of  the  dead.  It  is  equivalent  to 
the  Greek  Hades. 

Palaestra  (Gk.  palaistra),  a  wres- 
tling-school, or  gymnasium. 

Paradosis  (Gk.),  a  handing  over, 
transmission,  tradition ;  a  particular 
rite,  the  passing  from  hand  to  hand  of 
the  sacred  s3-mbolic  objects  used  in  the 
Eleusinian  Mysteries. 

Parakletos  (Gk.),  advocate,  helper; 
a  term  applied  to  the  kundalini,  the  re- 
generative force. 

Paranatellon  (Gk.  para,  "alongside 
of,"  and  anatcUon,  "rising"),  in  ancient 
astronomy,  a  constellation  lying  north 
or  south  of  the  zodiac  and  allotted  to 
one  of  the  decans.  The  paranatellons 
were  thirty-six  in  number. 

Para-shakti  (Sk.),  the  "great 
power,"  which  includes  the  forces  of 
light  and  heat. 

Patera  (Lat.),  a  libation-saucer,  the 
same  as  the  Greek  phial c. 

Periscope  (from  Gk.  periskopein, 
"to  consider  on  all  sides"),  a  general, 
comprehensive  summary;  aterm  inap- 
propriately applied  to  Luke  ix.  51-xviii. 
14- 

Persephone  (Gk.),  the  daughter  of 
Zeus  and  Demeter,  and  wife  of  PIou- 
t5n.  with  whom  she  reigned  over  the 
netherworld.     Latin,   Proserpina. 

Phren  (Gk.),  the  heart  and  cardiac 
region ;  the  lower  mental  faculties. 

Pingala  (Sk.),  the  current  of  the 
kundalini  which  flows  on  the  right  side 
of  the  human  body. 

Pisces  (Lat.;  Gk.  Ichthyes),  the 
Fishes,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  con- 
stellations; (2)  the  eleventh  sign  of 
the  zodiac.  Owing  to  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains 
the  constellation  Aquarius. 

Plouton  (Gk.),  the  God  of  the  Neth- 
erworld. He  was  the  son  of  Kronos 
and  Rhea,  and  the  husband  of  Per- 
sephone. The  name  being  confounded 
with  ploutos,  "wealth,"  he  was  also  re- 
garded as  the  God  of  Riches.  He  was 
also  called  Hades.    Latin.  Pluto. 


THE  RESTORED  NEW  TESTAMENT 


Pneuma  (Gk.),  wind,  air;  the  breath 
of  life;  the  spiritual  principle. 

Poseidon  (Gk.),  the  God  of  the 
Sea;  Guardian  of  the  zodiacal  sign 
Pisces.  He  was  the  son  of  Kronos 
and  Rhea.     Latin,  Neptunus,  Neptune. 

Prana  (Sk.),  the  life-principle,  the 
solar  jether;  mystically,  a  "ray"  sent 
forth  by  the  Sun,  or  spiritual  Mind : 
in  this  latter  sense  there  are  five  prd- 
nas,  or  intellectual  powers,  of  which 
one  is  termed  specifically  prana,  "the 
outgoing  life." 

Prithivl  (Sk.),  the  subtile  element 
earth. 

Procrustean,  reducing  to  strict  con- 
formity by  violent  measures.  The 
word  is  derived  from  Prokroustes, 
"Torturer,"  the  appellation  given  to 
Damastes,  a  robber  near  Eleusis  who, 
it  is  said,  compelled  travellers  to  lie 
down  on  a  couch  and  in  order  to  make 
them  conform  to  its  length  either 
stretched  them  out  or  lopped  off 
enough  of  their  limbs  to  make  them  fit 
it. 

Pyrotechnist  (Gk.  pyr,  "fire,"  and 
iechnitcs,  "artificer,"  "artist"),  a  term 
applied  by  mediseval  "fire-philosophers" 
to  one  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  occult 
"fires,"  the  psychic  and  spiritual  forces. 

Rhea  (Gk.,  from  rhcin,  "to  flow"), 
a  Goddess,  the  daughter  of  Heaven 
and  Earth,  and  wife  of  Kronos.  She 
was  identified  with  Amma  ("Mother"), 
the  Great  Mother  Goddess  of  Western 
Asia,  and  with  the  Phrygian  Kybele ; 
and  was  usually  represented  wearing  a 
mural  crown. 

Sagittarius  (Lat. ;  Gk.  Toxotes), 
the  Archer,  or  Bowman,  (i)  one  of 
the  zodiacal  constellations ;  (2)  the 
ninth  sign  of  the  zodiac.  Owing  to  the 
precession  of  the  equinoxes  this  sign 
now  contains  the  constellation  Scorpio. 

Sahasrara  (Sk.),  the  seventh  of  the 
force-centres  in  the  human  bo.dy,  the 
conarium. 

Sakaia  (Gk.),  a  festival  of  the  Sacse 
in  honor  of  Anaitis,  a  Goddess  identi- 
fied with  Venus.  According  to  Bero- 
sos,  the  five-day  feast  of  the  Sakaia 
was  celebrated  by  the  Babylonians,  and 
during  the  celebration  it  was  the  cus- 
tom that  masters  should  obev  their  ser- 


vants, one  of  whom  was  clothed  in  a 
royal  robe. 

Samadhi  (Sk.),  a  state  of  ecstatic 
trance,  or  of  abstract  meditation. 

Samana  (Sk.),  the  distributing  life, 
one  of  the  five  pranas. 

Satan  (Heb.),  an  enemy,  adversary; 
in  Christian  theology,  the  Evil  God,  as 
opposed  to  Yahveh  ("Jehovah"),  the 
Good  God,  though  ethically  there  is 
little  to  choose  between  the  two  Gods 
as  depicted  in  Jewish-Christian  myth- 
ology. 

Scorpio  (Lat.;  Gk.  Skorpios),  the 
Scorpion,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  con- 
stellations; (2)  the  eighth  sign  of  the 
zodiac.  Owing  to  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains 
the  constellation  Libra. 

Selene  (Gk.),  the  moon;  the  God- 
dess of  the  Aloon. 

Serapis,  a  Graeco-Egyptian  God. 

Shakti  (Sk.),  power,  ability;  a  crea- 
tive force. 

Somatic  (Gk.  somatikos,  "pertaining 
to  the  body"),  corporeal,  bodily. 

Speirema  (Gk.),  a  coil,  especially  a 
serpent-coil ;  the  same  as  the  Sanskrit 
kimdalini. 

Sushumna  (Sk.),  the  central  cur- 
rent of  the  kundaliiil.  It  flows  in  the 
centre  of  the  spinal  cord. 

Synoptic  (Gk.  synoptikos,  "seeing 
the  whole  together"),  a  term  applied 
to  the  first  three  Gospels. 

Talmud,  a  Hebrew  work  in  which 
the  oral  traditions  are  committed  to 
writing. 

Tartaros  (Gk. ;  Lat.  Tartarus),  the 
netherworld,  especially  as  the  abode  of 
impure  souls. 

Tattvas  (Sk.),  the  subtile  elements; 
differentiated  principles  in  nature  and 
in  man. 

Taurus  (Lat.;  Gk.  Taiiros),  the 
Bull,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  constel- 
lations; (2)  the  second  sign  of  the 
zodiac.  Owing  to  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains 
the  constellation  Aries. 

Tejas  (Sk.),  the  subtile  element  fire. 

Telestic  (Gk.  tclestikos),  mystical, 
pertaining  to  initiation. 


GLOSSARY 


819 


Thesmophoria  (Gk.),  a  festival  in 
honor  of  Demeter,  who  was  called 
Thesmophoros,  "Law-giving,"  because 
she  was  said  to  have  instituted  mar- 
riage and  civil  institutions.  The  festi- 
val lasted  three  days,  and  was  cele- 
brated bj'  many  cities  of  Greece,  but 
with  greatest  ceremony  at  Athens. 
Both  Demeter  and  Persephone  were 
worshipped  in  the  rites.  The  worship- 
pers were  free-born  matrons,  assisted 
by  a  priest  and  a  band  of  virgins.  They 
wore  white  garments,  as  emblematic  of 
purity. 

Thuja  (Gk.  fhuia),  a  North-African 
tree  with  sweet-smelling  wood. 

Udana  (Sk.),  the  upgoing  life,  one 
of  the  live  prdnas. 

Upanishads  (Sk.),  ancient  mystical 
writings  appended  to  the  Vedas. 


Vayu  (Sk.),  the  subtile  element  air. 

Virgo  (Lat. ;  Gk.  Parthenos),  the 
Virgin,  (i)  one  of  the  zodiacal  con- 
stellations; (2)  the  sixth  sign  of  the 
zodiac.  Owing  to  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes  this  sign  now  contains 
the  constellation  Leo. 

Vishuddhi  (Sk.).  the  fifth  of  the 
force-centres  in  the  human  body,  the 
pharyngeal  plexus. 

Vyana  (Sk.),  the  uniting  life,  one  of 
the  five  pranas. 

Zeus  (Gk.),  the  King  and  Father  of 
Gods  and  Men ;  Guardian  of  the  zo- 
diacal sign  Leo,  and  Regent  of  the 
planet  Jupiter.  He  was  the  son  of 
Kronos  and  Rhea.  Although  the  high- 
est of  the  Gods,  he  has  many  minor 
aspects.    Latin,  Jupiter. 


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